More Than Guests
by Stavi
Summary: AU SasuNaru ItaHaku. Once upon a time, there lived two boys, whose family was attacked and were the only survivors. They were taken in by a servant of Itachi and Sasuke, the rulers of the western lands. This is their chaotic and hilarious story. Hiatus
1. Lost and Losing

Opening: AU – Alternate Universe.

Warning: Fighting/Death, Yaoi, Language, Possible lemon.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor do I own a second dimension, but wouldn't it be killer if I did? (Just realizes the irony of this statement after reading the first chapter)

--Once Upon a Time--

-Lost and Losing-

"Can't catch me! Can't catch me! Haha!" A happy boy laughed and ran around in the water.

In a beautiful glade with lush and fertile vegetation, a waterfall crashed gracefully into a large pond and the wind blew softly. Sun flitted through the trees making specs of light dance along the forest floor. Tall rocks stacked high next to the waterfall led to a smooth top where the sun shined down on lavishly; a perfect place for sun bathing or just relaxation. The water cascading from the falls was clean and had an aqua coloration that made it look so peaceful, even when disturbed by motion. Herbs grew abundantly and provided ideal cures for the everyday illness and then some. Green grass carpeted the ground, it was soft and in the morning, cool dew accented the beauty of this sanctuary with little reflections of sunlight that made the place sparkle.

The family that resided near this beautiful haven was currently at play.

Four young looking fox demon kits played a game similar to tag, but it apparently took a turn to, 'chase the cocky fox'. Two women rested on the stone slab of rock high above the pond, smiling fondly at the shouts of amusement.

Of the four kits, three were male and one was female.

The first born was a male by the name of Aki, because he was born in the fall. He was tall and muscular, tanned dark as if the sun revolved around him. He was experienced in battle for someone at the age of 18 and it showed as 5 tails swished quietly behind him a dazzling red-orange fur that matched with his hair. Aki's hair was long and tapered down to the curve of his spine, yet confined to a blue ribbon that was mocked by the intense blue eyes, dancing merrily with happiness. His fox ears poked out of his hair and twitched with the songs of the birds. His body was clothed with almost one-third of wrapped cloth. His stomach was wrapped in it up to his chest, his legs from his calves to mid-thigh, and his arms, from his wrists to his biceps.

Over his torso, he had a black quarter-sleeved jacket that was left open to view the wraps on his abdomen. The bottom half of his outfit was a pair of black, knee-length pants. It wasn't a classy outfit but on the god like body it was held on, it left very little to the imagination.

The second born was also a male. He was known as Haku. Haku was effeminate and was often accused of being a girl. It didn't matter to him at all; he liked the way his slim hips curved out slightly like a woman's and his slender shoulders that contained the look of innocence on the 17 year old boy. His skin was not quite tan, it was odd, seeing that his family and most of the village was tanned, but the pale skin was envied by many women. Two black tails hung limply behind him when he stopped for breath as his siblings and cousin ran on. He didn't like fighting and tried to avoid it at all costs. Blood reminded him of his father, and then his uncle… it made him feel so sick thinking about it.

Haku also had long hair but only grew to the middle of his back; he liked having the silk black hair free. He wore a forest green, baggy-like, half-sleeved shirt. It was made of mock-silk material with intricate black designs. His pants were beige and wide so that if you weren't paying attention to detail it would look like a calf length skirt.

Being the feminine man that he was, he wore jewelry to accentuate his womanly appearance. He had seven silver bracelets on his left wrist, one for each important person in his life: his mother, his aunt, his uncle, his brother, his sister, his niece and his cousin. He had a black sash around his neck. When his black ear twitched you could see a shining piece of metal; an earring in his left ear, a little more than half way down. Haku was a truly beautiful person, inside and out.

The last born was the female and her name was Maki. She was small and meek. At her current age of 8, she finally had one tail. She never strayed too far from her family because she was a shy young thing. Her slate grey eyes were always half-lidded in a gentle manner and she always had a smile on her face, even if it was small, it was there. She had pretty brown hair that she put in a high pony-tail. When it was down it only reached her shoulder blades but she never much liked long hair on herself, it wasn't really fitting. Her skin was much like Haku's. She wore a gray sun dress with a dull blue sash around the middle. When she was younger her mother made her a rabbit stuffed animal. It had soft gray fur and a blue ribbon that matched her sash. She never let it out of her sight for a moment and the use of it was obvious by the almost unnoticeable repairs. It was currently heating up under the suns rays at the edge of the pond.

Finally, the last of the four kits was a male known as Naruto. He was the cousin to the other three and was just a year younger than Haku. The only thing similar between Naruto and Haku was that he was also feminine looking. He had sunshine blonde hair and unlike his other male cousins, he was short. Standing at an unremarkable 5'6" the only people he could compare his height to fairly were the women in the near by village. He was a free spirit though, in the petite-sized body.

Innocent and happy, he foolishly trusted everything that he was faced with, people and animals alike. Nothing ever seemed to bring him down. He was still too young, but he was going to be the next ruler of the fox demon tribes, all of them. At that point in time however, his mother was ruling for him, until he was ready. His father was the previous king until he was killed. His skin was mildly tanned to a perfect caramel color. The build that Haku had was slim like his own, but he had muscles on him from training his mother made him do. They weren't bulky like his older cousin's; they were cut well, but still small, so he still maintained his 'girlish' looks.

Three tails wagged happily, poking out of the tight white shorts on his legs as he ran from his chasers. He had a sleeveless, backless, light orange turtleneck for a shirt. It looked like he had white leg warmers on his arms; they were mostly white but had light orange lining. They went from his triceps to halfway pass his elbows where they puffed out, and then they went to his hand and were connected to an orange plastic ring on each of his middle fingers. It wasn't shocking that he chose such bright and happy colors to show his personality.

They were running through the water as best as they can since the water seemed to pull them further away from where they were headed. But they were having fun none the less.

It was the time they spent, the outcome held no significance to them.

Two sisters watched as their children played below, also enjoying each other's company. They made small talk giggling at the times Naruto's klutziness had shown through when he tripped or when Maki made a fuss about being too slow and wanting them to slow down.

It was one of the very few breaks that they all had at the same time and they were going to spend it together like a family. They left the village that was five or six miles away and came to their piece of land that gave them peace of mind. Kyuubi, Naruto's mother always said that. She was currently sipping on tequila while she twirled one of her nine tails around her hand and through her fingers.

Kagami [**1**, her sister, made an odd muffled noise. She turned to her and smirked at her younger sister and Kagami shivered. Kyuubi took one of her tails and 'accidentally', lightly touched her side. The same noise came and that was the only warning Kagami got before he sister pounced tickling her with all nine tails. It was all in good fun and they fought with their tails. Although, Kagami was at a disadvantage seeing as she only had eight tails and her older sister lovingly pointed it out.

During the blissful moment, Kyuubi tensed suddenly, feeling evil approaching quickly. Kagami caught the sound of rushing feet in her ears and nodded at her sisters' look. The two jumped off of the rocks and guarded their kids from the wickedness coming from the surrounding forest.

Air around them blew furiously, almost an ominous flick to it. The children's game ended abruptly with the tense atmosphere of their mothers. A one-sided war of distrust went on between the women and the forest.

"Children! Please, go and hide! Evil approaches!" Naruto's mother barked; her voice trembled with the build-up of growing power.

"Hurry! There are many with killer intent. A murderous aura," Kagami instructed with a foreboding temper rising. Her tails swung dangerously, threatening whoever in the forest to back off.

Naruto and Haku nodded and took Maki behind the waterfall with them to hide. They watched in anxiety as the battle started. No predetermined winner. No good outcome. Life or Death. Madness versus Reason. Chaos.

Twenty-five men, fifteen humans and ten demons of mixed blood, attacked the mothers. The humans wielding long firearms and the demons with nothing but their bare claws and short swords.

A large explosion of power surged out of Kyuubi and Kagami. With a passionate roar of authority Kyuubi attacked the demons while Kagami and Aki fought with the humans.

The three thrashed and clawed at the evil men. No amount of mercy was evident in their eyes. As the blows they landed increased, so too had the blows they received. Whereas Kyuubi was throttled and scarred, Kagami and Aki were shot.

The fight continued in that manner of pure offence for what seemed like forever. Numbers lessened from twenty-five to eleven, leaving six demons and five humans. They fought purely on adrenaline and that was most likely the reason they were still standing. Wasn't it said that, "with adrenaline, one may possess the strength of ten men"? In this case the two mothers would have the strength of twenty men.

Kyuubi brutally attacked another demon, inflicting it with violently powerful punches and kicks. She was having trouble stabilizing herself with the blood that she lost. Her senses were focused on her current opponent and she wasn't prepared for the stab to her back. She turned to see a short sword penetrating her back between her shoulder-blades and a demons sly smile glinting shamelessly.

"You sick fuck!" She whipped around and drove her claws into his chest. Pulling her fist out, she gleamed and licked the blood off of her hand. _Note to self: Don't let your guard down again. _She clenched the back of her neck hoping to ease the pain with little success.

Looking down at the ground, she noticed the pool of blood surrounding her and realized most of it was hers. _I can't keep going on like this, I hope Kagami is okay. _

She glanced at her sister and nephew killing another human and smirked, but the smirk quickly faded when she saw all the blood that they were losing, especially Kagami. _We have to finish this soon._

Kyuubi whipped around to fend off another demon when she heard an earth-shattering cry. She made her kill and ran to Aki's side where he hovered over Kagami. Kagami was down, her healing system too overloaded with injuries to catch up. Blood was running down her face and her wounds, mixing in with the water she laid in. She was soaked to the bone and caked in mud and blood.

Tears fell from the fighters' eyes.

"Kagami, I'm sorry, I… I, Oh God!" Kyuubi fell to her knees beside her sister and cried into her chest. Fox demons aren't immortal, no demon is. Blood is blood and it creates more blood; the process never ends.

"Just…make sure… _kauh- spla_… that those bastards… _ha_… all of them…die…" More blood was coughed up and the air stilled in her lungs.

Kyuubi stood shaking violently. _Don't worry, Kagami. _Her eyes glowed red. _Even Lucifer will be breathless after this._

She exploded with rage and launched herself at them, human and demon alike. Aki was not far behind her after hearing his mother's last words.

"Goddamn you all!" She cried, her emotions ruling her. The woman beat, punched, and kicked with all she was.

Blinded by rage, she barely heard the barbaric scream of her nephew falling to earth. She turned in time to see a sword pierce his back and drive into the dirt below his stomach.

Tears ran down her face, never stopping or slowing, in their pace or in her battle. Three demons… four humans… any one of them could end her life. She could feel the fear and pain emanating from behind the falls. Restraint, to keep from joining the battle. Hope, against all hope that this battle will finish with no more blood from loved ones. Anxiety, for the end.

And the end soon came, but it was not for the good. Kyuubi was down. One demon and one human went down with her. The demons roared triumphantly and the humans sought more blood. Nothing quelled by the pool of blood soaking the soiled earth.

Maki's cry of anguish was heard painfully. Haku panicked as the eyes of the murders flicked toward the falls. He drew Maki close to him and hugged her tightly to calm her. She fought against the restraint, trying desperately to reach her mother's corpse.

Through the sorrowful event, Naruto stood stalk still. He was shaking violently and had to use the wall of the cave for support. His aunt, his cousin…his mother…_his Mother! _His head snapped forward and with a yell only a beast could unleash, charged out from behind the cascading waters.

The approaching villains were startle by the outburst and readied themselves with their weapons. Not wasting any time, Naruto let loose a frenzy of devastating blows. Clawing, ripping, and shredding at his enemy's skin.

"Naruto! …Wait!" Haku's words fell on deaf ears, ears deaf by the sound of his mother's final cries, ears deaf by the sound of Aki's animalist roars, ears deaf by the sound of his aunt's final words. The two still concealed burst out of their hiding place.

An orange glow wrapped itself around Naruto, flaring up and fluctuating like the frantic dance the boy displayed.

He wrapped his claws around one demon's neck and clenched unto blood poured from its jugular. It crumpled to the ground as if boneless.

Haku turned his sister to face his chest, trying to prevent her from seeing the massacre.

The men panicked; shooting everywhere they could in an attempt to hit the beast ravaging their few numbers. One stray bullet struck Haku in the leg that made him fall back leaving Maki wide open. He heard the crack of a gun and time seemed to slow down.

The bullet, though slowed by the moment, sped toward the girl. She was standing in the direct path of it and couldn't move, couldn't scream. Haku tried so hard to stand so that he could block the bullet, but his left leg wouldn't cooperate with him. Time resumed and hit them both hard. A short high shriek came from Maki's mouth and she fell over, dying immediately.

"No! Maki!" Haku clutched her bleeding frame to his body, "Maki! Oh God…" This sound shook Naruto to the core and ignited more rage within him.

Naruto removed the man who shot Haku from the earth along with the other that had killed Maki, relishing their blood on his hands. He killed the last human with a simple stroke of a finger. He didn't hear the blade of the final demon being drawn. He did, however; feel it being pushed through his back and out his stomach.

"Lucky me," the demon's hollowed voice reverberated around the glade.

With blood pouring from his wound, he snapped around, stole his sword and slammed it into the beast's stomach.

His fists tightened, in mechanical movements, he straddled the unmoving carcass and punched him in the face repeatedly, yelling and screaming. Soon, blood started splashing him from the battered face.

"Naruto, stop!" Shrieked Haku, clinging onto his back. "He's dead. He's dead, you did it. Please, calm down Naru…please…Your mama wouldn't want to see this. She wouldn't." Haku didn't let go.

The blonde's hands slowed and came to a stop. Tears weld up in his eyes, even as they glowed red. He hugged Haku tightly.

"I'm sorry, Maki. I'm so sorry," he kept repeating it over and over. Haku didn't care that he was bleeding all over him, as long as he was himself again, that's all that mattered.

"We need to go, Naruto. There might be more and we can't risk returning to the village," Haku cradled himself on a thick branch.

Naruto nodded and slid off of the demon. He walked with Haku, they didn't know where they were going or what they would do once they got there, but they knew that they had to protect each other if they were going to survive this.

---------

After nearly five hours of walking, Naruto paused to rest against a tree. He was panting and from what one could tell by simply looking, his bleeding hadn't stopped in the least even with the makeshift wrap Haku gave him. While the fox demon side of him kept him from bleeding out as fast as a mere human would, the length at which he remained standing was a feat alone.

"Naru, we can't stop. We have to keep going," Haku instructed him. It sounded muddled to Naruto as he stared, unblinking at his cousin.

"Naruto?" The boy in question, continued staring, his eyes began slipping closed.

"Naruto!" Haku rushed to his aide just as he collapsed. "Stay still, Naru. We can't continue at this rate," his eyes flashed worriedly toward the wound.

"Get my pouch, take some too, Haku," he whispered while he was laid against the tree.

Haku nodded and untied the pouch string from Naruto's waist. It was a small leather pouch Kyuubi made for Naruto and she filled it with Juuten berries. Juuten berries were a rarity that only royalty could get their hands on. She had told Naruto that she got them from a friend. They were a type of 'magical' berry that replenished health and calmed jittery nerves. They were mostly used on the battle field. The other great thing about them was that even after you pick them they stayed fresh for fifteen to twenty years. Naruto received it when he was just six years old.

He opened the pouch and took out ten, getting three for himself as instructed. Haku took the leftover seven and placed them into Naruto's mouth. He moved his jaw in order to crush the berries and then tipped his head back, waiting for him to swallow them.

"Are you okay, Haku?" Naruto offered smiling, albeit weakly. He was trying to lighten the mood. Haku was sure that if Naruto wasn't there, he would have gone insane, that is, _if_ he made it away from those killers.

Haku nodded gratefully and ate his. _I was lucky though, _he thought and sat back against a neighboring tree.

He bent over and pulled up his pant leg to reveal a thigh plate. Kagami passed it down from her father, entrusting it to him. He never took it off and he was glad for it so much now.

Though it was still not a pretty site. The bullet pierced through the metal, but the guard significantly slowed it down. It broke his femur instantly and immobilized him. You could see the bullet if you looked into the opening of the wound. He noticed Naruto's gaze on his leg.

"It's fine. Nothing too bad." He smiled at him reassuringly.

Naruto looked over at him and sighed in relief. He was glad he wasn't injured too badly.

The blonde was starting to tire; the lack of blood was slowly catching up to him. His eyes slipped closed. He faintly heard Haku yelling at him and felt the boy shake him, but there was nothing he could do. Naruto felt warm as arms wrapped themselves around him and dragged him deep into the sleeping world.

"Naru? Naru?! Wake up, Naru! Damn it, wake up!" Haku cried as he shook the boy almost violently. There was nothing he could do, he realized.

"Someone, please find us. Someone please help." He whispered and hugged his cousin tightly, tears flowing down his cheeks. Sleep took him as well and he prayed, even in his dreams.

---------

"Oh my…what is this?" A shocked man looked at the two boys.

--------_**TBC**_--------

1: You get a mention in my next update if you can tell me which of my stories Kagami is from.

Nomi: Yay! I updated! I think it's harder to change a pre-existing story than to make one to begin with.

Mol: Whatever! Freakin' hurry up would you?

Nomi: Yeah, I know. I'm working super hard to make up for lost time. I got rid of the authors notes and stuff, so yay! Now, we're back in business and I'm working on redoing all of the chapters. Some of them won't have really obvious changes, but just some that I noticed, needed to be made.

I also want to thank EVERYONE who has stayed with this story, and bared with my stupidity and lateness with the chapters. I definitely do NOT want to give up on my love of writing or the people who stick with me. So thank you again.

P.S.: MayIFall is an amazing editor and I love her to itty bitty bits and pieces. Thank you so much!


	2. Forgetting the Unforgettable

More Than Guests:

Forgetting the Unforgettable

Japanese Dictionary:

Aniki – older brother

_'blah' _- thoughts

**-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --**

"Oh my…What is this?" A shocked man looked at the two boys.

"Oh my God!" The tanned man knelt down beside the two cousins and shook the pale one's shoulder strongly.

Chocolate eyes opened lazily as if grasping the world around him. In his blurred vision he made out the silhouette of a tanned, older man kneeling before him with a concerned spark in his eyes.

"A-Aniki?" Haku lifted his arm and placed it tenderly on the man's face. Begging, pleading, and hoping, that he wasn't wrong, and that it was just a nightmare he had with Aki, as usual, coming in to make sure he was okay.

The other presence jumped slightly; startled by the touch, but then, with a trembling hand, placed it on Haku's. His eyes closed slowly, in a sad way. Haku almost cried when he realized what the other man did. He held his hand there and shook his head so that the boy could feel the solemn answer. _'No.'_

"I-I'm sorry, sir." Haku apologized and woke himself out of his dream-like haze.

The area around them was laden by thick mist that was comforting to the touch, but made it nearly impossible to see. He was vaguely aware that it was morning and pale orange, red, and purple colors shone off of the little flecks of water in the air. It made the place more tranquil than it actually was. The grass grew more wildly than it did back at the glade, but it was still soft and cool. Moist tree bark soaked his backside and left an uncomfortable kink in his back as he sat up. Morning birds chirped freely, conversing about the new guests lying on the ground.

Everything hit him at once. The glade, the killers, his family, the deaths, the escape, Naruto…

"Naru!" He turned quickly, nearly giving himself whiplash. The kink in his back released with a sickening pop. His cousin was pale, sickly pale in a heart-clenching way.

He feared the worst; his company finally noticed what condition the other was in and was too gripped with fear.

Haku slipped two fingers on to Naruto's neck, feeling for his lifeline. He closed his eyes, expecting that he was lost. A move to the left, to the right, to the…there! It was faint, but it existed.

He turned to the man and gazed at him imploringly.

"Sir, we may have just met and I know it's rude of me to impose on you, but please, can you help him?" He moved his gaze from the man across from him and to Naruto.

The man was slightly taken aback by the sincere and polite way the boy addressed him with. His withdrawn look was quickly replaced by understanding and fondness.

"Don't be silly," He began. Haku looked crestfallen, but the older tilted his head up to look in his eyes, "you _both_ need help." The man was looking at Haku's leg.

"Sir, may I ask you your name?"

"Call me Iruka, dear. What's yours?" Iruka asked.

"My name's Haku. It's very nice to-" A voice further in the woods interrupted him.

"Iruuuuka!"

Haku held a look of puzzlement to the tanned savior. Iruka sighed heavily and shook his head, _'don't ask,' _the look seemed to say.

With slight hesitation, he answered the call, "Over here!"

A few moments passed by, until a man slightly taller than Iruka stepped into sight. The mist was very thick and it was almost impossible to see anything that was 10 feet away from you.

"Iruka, who are these two?" The man asked. He bent down to our level next to Iruka.

"These two are hurt and need to come back with us. Please, help me." He stated more than asked. It made Haku sort of wonder who wore the pants in this obvious relationship.

"Well, which should I carry?"

"You carry Haku. Haku this is Kakashi, alright? Kakashi this is Haku. Mind the left leg." Iruka instructed Kakashi as he picked Naruto up bridal style. It is most likely the least painful way to hold him without stressing the wound.

Kakashi did as he was told. He shuffled around awkwardly until his was crouched in front of Haku with his back towards him. Understanding the gesture, Haku wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck and his one leg around his waist. It wasn't conventional nor comfortable, but affective. He held Haku's good leg in place, his other leg hung limply making it a little uncomfortable for Kakashi. Haku apologized quietly to the gray haired man, his reply was an equally quiet, 'Hn.'

"Let's hurry. This one's barely alive." Iruka's voice held an urgent edge.

The elder cousin's hold on Kakashi's shoulders tightened. Haku was going to beat Naruto over the head with a stick when he woke up. _'If he does wake up.' _He couldn't stop the betraying thought.

A gentle scent wafted into his nose. Calming and relaxing. Sea salt and something akin to oranges. He found he liked the smell and relaxed onto his carrier's back.

**-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --**

"_Haku! Look at this!" He turned to the call of his name and smiled happily at his cousin standing next the sunflowers with a slight scowl on his face._

"_Darn! I thought I was as tall as this one." Naruto grunted._

"_Face it, Naru. You'll never outgrow the sunflowers. I bet I'll even be taller than you soon." Maki giggled and ran away into the sunflower field._

_It was warm and bright. The sun was heating the earth below it and little pieces of clouds moved lethargically through the sky. There was a huge sunflower field that they were walking around. The kids were on a small mission to gather sunflower seeds for a shop down the street of their house. They were glad to help the kind old lady._

"_Hmph. You're so hurtful, Maki-chan." Naruto sniffed pathetically. _

"_Look squirt. The way I see it is: the longer you're small, the longer I have the perfect armrest." Aki leaned on Naruto with his forearm on his head._

_Naruto growled. "Haku, tell them to stop being mean!" He whined and shook Aki's arm off, nipping the limb sharply._

_Haku opened his mouth to answer him, but nothing came out. He panicked and tried to scream. Still nothing. He flicked terror-filled eyes to Naruto._

"_Haku?" Naruto questioned and walked toward him._

_The flowers began to whither and die, eventually disappearing into a somber grey background. Aki walked forward, toward Haku, but it looked like, with every step forward he took, that he would go backwards further, soon disappearing in the distance. With the flowers gone, Maki was visible and was following the same path Aki left in, leaving only Naruto and him._

"_Haku?" Naruto asked again, walking closer._

_Naruto wasn't being pulled away. Naruto wasn't leaving him. Naruto wasn't lost in the darkness. Naruto was staying. Naruto was here._

"_Haku."_

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Haku, wake up." Someone was shaking him.

He sat up quickly and looked around. He was sitting in a queen-sized bed with a black silk sheet pooling around him. Two white pillows sat behind him with a black one shifted awkwardly to the side of him. The room was white and adorned with random black and white 'guest room' items. It was really rather large for a guest room. There were two open doors. One led to a bathroom and the other led out into a hall.

Haku noticed Iruka sitting on a white leather chair that was pulled up beside the bed. He remembered that Iruka was the one who brought him here with Naruto.

"Be careful with your leg," Iruka motioned to it and that was when Haku noticed the cast the kept his leg from moving much. It wrapped around his pelvis and down his left leg to just above his left leg.

Iruka was a kind looking man. He was just about as tanned as Naruto was. He had brown eyes -lighter than Haku's- and dark brown hair. There was a pale scar on the bridge of his nose. Haku couldn't tell what type of demon he was, because there were no obvious characteristics of any he knew. Probably elfin if anything. He had a kind of uniform on him. It was a formal white blouse and black dress pants. A black bow tie was hanging haphazardly over his shoulder. His bottom lip was lightly swollen, like he'd been biting it for a while.

"Where is Naru? How is he?" He asked immediately.

Iruka laughed softly. "Good morning to you too. If you mean the person that was with you, they're okay. Well-resting and healing, but they'll be fine." He smiled reassuringly.

"I can't thank you enough." He sniffed the air around them, the familiar scent of his forest was missing from the floating fragrances. "Eh, where are we?" The thought finally passed Haku's mind while he looked around the room.

"This, uh, is my master's home." There was a slight flinch in Iruka posture as he said that. Haku quirked an eyebrow.

"I heard we had a new guest," a smooth voice came from the door, "So I thought I'd drop by." He smirked.

Haku looked up and his eyes nearly fell out of his face. A fucking sex god just walked into the room. Porcelain skin teased the eye with mocking taunts of its flawlessness. His black, glossy hair hung limply on his shoulders. It was obvious to him that this man was a son of Satan. You can't tell by appearances, except for their eyes that turn red when calling on their powers, but there's an engrossing and unique fragrance that exists in their presence. While he was sniffing, Haku could smell that scent all over the place, it was even on Kakashi, as he remembered, when they were coming here. _'Oranges and sea-salt.' _The way he stood told Haku that he had importance and pride but was able to give off a relaxed air. He munched on an apple that simply added to the calm demeanor.

His ensemble added to the regal yet composed manner. Black slacks flowed down from his hips to just an inch above the floor, a white blouse, half tucked in, draped over his shoulders and a black tie hung around his neck. While the way it was put together looked simply atrocious, the person in it made said style look seemingly..._delectable_. He could be walking around buck-naked and no one would find it strange. Haku blushed at this thought.

Black eyes looked at him, amused. "So, the dubbed, 'damsel in distress' has opened her eyes." His smirk seemed to falter slightly when he was met with a chuckling Haku on the bed. He quirked a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the scene.

"Pardon my rudeness, sir," he chuckled again, "but I'm a boy."

The new man looked surprised but then smirked again, "Ah. Call me Itachi." He turned around and walked out of the room. "Enjoy your stay here," Itachi said loud enough for Haku to hear.

He smiled and whispered to himself, "I know I will."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Haku was watching Naruto like a hawk. He hardly blinked and just stared at his cousin lying on the bed. He was so worried, it being a day since they got here and eight hours since Haku woke up.

Another thing caught him by surprise in his earlier scrutiny. A fourth tail lay beneath the blonde's body. Every time he saw it, it reminded him of what happened before.

Iruka sweat-dropped. _'Ah. His face is going to get stuck like that.'_

There was a small spark behind the boy's eyes before he tore them away from his visual captive to look at Iruka.

"That man before…who was he?" He was slightly confused by the extremely shocked, if not disturbed, look on Iruka's face.

Iruka sputtered. "_That man _was Uchiha Itachi!"

Haku was just as confused as before, maybe even more. "Who?"

"Y-You don't know who Uchiha Itachi is?!"

Iruka was baffled. Who didn't know Itachi-sama? Was he raised by animals? He looked at the boy's ears as they twitched in confusion. _'Ah…never mind.' _Everyone knew who _he_ was and no one dared forget it.

"He's the king of the western lands." He stated matter-of-factly.

Haku looked at him with disbelieving, wide eyes. He was about to scoff, but the serious finality of Iruka's tone broke that thought.

"You're serious?" He asked after a moment of silence.

An affirmative nod answered him.

Haku thought back to a memory of when he was about fourteen and walking around his village.

He walked passed a group of giggling, gossiping girls and listened, merely out of curiosity. They said something about Itachi. Something about him having a gorgeous body, mesmerizing eyes, and a voice as soft as velvet. They also swooned over someone named 'Sauce-Gay' or something. As he walked away, he heard one of the girls give Itachi an interesting nickname…

"So _that's _Mr. Sex-On-Legs. What about that guy, Sake'…Sauce kay…" He chatted mostly to himself but not quiet enough to where Iruka couldn't hear him.

Iruka couldn't help it. He burst out into thundering peals of laughter. Haku didn't understand what was so funny until he realized that he said the not-so-secret, secret nickname louder than he intended. He flushed in embarrassment. After the laughing died down again, Iruka managed to school his face into one of seriousness.

"Don't tell that to his face or you might end up like your friend there." Iruka gestured lightly in the direction of his bed-ridden companion.

'_You mean on a bed?' _His mind supplied. _'Gah! Stupid, stupid! Look at what you did Jiraiya-ojiisan! Corrupting this innocent mind!' _

Jiraiya was a man who came to their house often and talked with his aunt and mother for an hour or so, before leaving an envelope and treating Naruto and him to ramen. He visited so frequently that he just naturally became a part of the family.

"I think you were talking about prince Sasuke. He's been on a trip with his friends, but he's coming home today in about an hour." Iruka explained, realizing that today was the day that his master would be returning home.

A loud groan came from the bed and Haku made a mad dash to its side. He watched the blonde's eyes flutter open to stare into concern-filled, wide brown orbs.

"H-Haku?" He questioned hoarsely.

"Yeah, it's me." Haku stroked the blonde locks tenderly. He was so happy that Naruto woke up.

Naruto sat up and looked around. The dominant colors of the room were maroon and a deep navy blue, with the same furniture layout as Haku's.

The youngest in the room made a crude smacking sound with his mouth. There was a lingering taste of blood there. A sneer made its way onto his face as he swallowed the grotesque taste against his better judgment.

"Wh-Where are we?" The unfamiliar smells overwhelming him along with the odd directionality of the winds.

Haku looked at Iruka for an explanation.

"This is the castle of the western lands. King Uchiha Itachi and the Prince Uchiha Sasuke currently reside here. I am Iruka, a servant to the masters and you- Oi, lay down!" Naruto was fighting his covers that looked like they were tangling worse as he tried.

"Don't worry! Everything's peachy! Ne, Haku? How'd we get here?" He stood up and took a step towards Haku, but stopped abruptly and grabbed his stomach in pain. "And wh-why am I," he gasped when he caught the sight of blood on his fingers, "bleeding?"

Iruka put him back on the bed with a disapproving frown marred on his face. "Miss, don't move. You've opened your stitches." He pushed a call button for nurses to tend to Naruto's injuries. Haku was about to correct Iruka's mix-up of Naruto's gender, but nurses ushered him into the hall while they tended to his cousin's stomach.

He caught these words before he was pushed out, "Haku…what happened?"

Haku stood there, staring at Naruto until the door was closed in his face. He just stood; entranced by those two simple words.

Naruto didn't remember. Naruto…_forgot_…

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The sun was setting and the summer day had died down into a comforting cool night. A raven-haired boy shuffled into his living room and slumped onto the couch to read. He clicked on his reading lamp and flipped to the page he was last on.

"Welcome home, little brother." A cool voice spoke next to him.

"Aniki," Sasuke greeted, "you look happy. Anything happen while I was away?" He looked at Itachi's faint smirk and his eyes that were dancing with amusement. It was an odd occurrence in itself and it made Sasuke all the more curious.

"Nothing gets by you. Yes, we have some very…_interesting_ guests here." Itachi's smirk widened as he remembered the young _boy_ he had met in the morning.

"_Interesting_ you say?" A fine brow rose. That did it, his curiosity was peaked.

"Why, yes. You should make it a point to see them…Sasuke."

"I just might do that."

_**TBC…**_

Nomi: Yay! Introducing sex-on-legs and Sauce-gay!

SOL: -smirks at Haku-

Haku: -Blushes-

SOL: -victory grin-

SG: Hey! You don't get any until I get some. –leers at Naru-

Naru: Meep! Stay away from my virginity! I don't even know you yet! –runs-

Mol/Nomi: -sweat drop-

All: Anyway, Ja! R&R Please!

Enna: Oh, Hey. I'm Enna and I'm a new editor 3 my account is ennagirl, nya.

I want to thank both of my lovely and amazing editors! MayIFall and Ennagirl, I love you! Bow to them! Do eet!

I didn't change much to this chapter; I just tried to make it less confusing.


	3. Let's Get Ready to Rumble

Well before things get started, I'm going to make a translator guide for the Japanese terms I'm going to use:

Aniki – brother

Ne – Right? Also used to garner someone's attention

Aa – Yes or agreeing to something

-Sama – Akin to the respect of master, used as an honorific

Wai! — Whoo! It's a noise of amusement like, yay.

I switch Naruto's name between Naru and Naruto but it's the same person.

Thanks for helping me help you! On with the story!

Slightly filler-ish

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The next morning found Naruto and Haku eating breakfast in Naruto's room. Naruto was making friends already; chatting up the servant and two maids that came to assist them. One would wonder why the two of them were given the 'royal' treatment when they have yet to properly introduce themselves to the family of which they impose on.

"…So then, I tripped and fell into the puddle and made a total fool of myself. I got my ear teased off by Aki, my older brother. Not that I don't get enough of that, ne? Haku?" The servant and two maids were laughing loudly at the story the blonde just told.

Haku looked at his hands which held a mug of tea. He thought about what happened two days ago, but he also thought about Naruto's feelings. How would he feel once he remembered what happened to his only family? How would he live knowing that the only thing that he holds dear isn't around anymore? That's when Haku decided that if he could prevent it, Naruto would never know what happened that fateful day.

"Yeah, he always teases him about being so short. Right, small fry?" Haku joked lightly and chuckled at the pout on his cousin's face.

"Oh, Miss. You are quite the fool." One maid laughed.

Naruto's left ear twitched and a wicked smile slipped onto his face. He motioned the three closer to him with a 'come hither' move. Placing his finger in front of his lips in a motion for a secret he whispered, "don't tell anyone this but…I'm a guy." You could hear a pin drop at the silence.

"Oh, Miss. That's rich! It's obvious that you're-"

"I could prove it, you know?" He smirked.

"Wha—?" The servant gasped slightly.

He was grinning like an imp. "What, just because I want to keep a girlish figure, I have to explain myself? That doesn't seem very fair." Naruto laughed and after a moment of confusion, so did the rest of the room.

"Well Naru, we'll send the nurses up in about an hour to check on you." The three got up and went to the door.

"Please come back when you can." He shouted as they left.

It was peaceful in the room and each of the cousins drank their tea quietly, until Naruto opened his mouth.

"So, are you going to answer me now?"

Haku looked at him blankly for a moment. "Answer what?" He questioned.

"What happened to me…to us? Why are we here?" Naruto was getting serious, so there was no going around it. But Haku knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

"We are here because we were saved. If you don't remember what we were saved from, then it must not have been that important, right?" Haku smiled and patted Naruto on the head.

"I guess so. You wouldn't keep anything from me." He smiled back and leaned into the hand.

Haku flinched at the words but continued to comfort Naruto. _'What he doesn't know can't hurt him. But what if they come back?' _He looked at the serene look on the blonde's face. _'I will protect you, I swear on my life and I promise it.' _He rested his hand on Naruto's head in a protective gesture.

There was a knock on the door that brought the two back to reality.

"Come in!" Naruto shouted and the door opened to reveal Iruka and Kakashi.

Kakashi was a taller man, about six feet two inches tall and had pale skin. With the pointed tip ears and course-haired tail, it was obvious that he was a wolf demon. He had on beige jeans and a tight black shirt with a navy blue blouse-like shirt that was left open. His hair was gray/white but not in an old way. There was an eye patch on his left eye but the other held a leer on Iruka.

"How are you feeling, Naru?" Iruka asked as he rushed to the bed.

"Peachy, Iruka! How are you? Who's that guy? Is he your boyfriend? Is he nice? Do you know that I'm a guy?" Naruto was so hyper from staying in bed for the past two days, that he could barely contain himself when people were present.

Iruka laughed. "I'm fine. This is Kakashi. Um…yes, he is. He's nice when he's not being a pervert. The nurses called you a 'he' so I figured it out eventually." Kakashi looked slightly surprised that his boyfriend could understand half of the things that the bouncy boy had said.

"Thanks so much for saving us by the way. How can we ever repay you?" Naruto bowed his head slightly to show his respects.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad that you're alright. By the way, we came to relay a message from Uchiha-sama."

Haku blinked and spoke in sync with Naruto. "A message?"

"Yeah. He wants to see you at dinner tonight and requests that you look your best." Kakashi answered.

Haku looked down at the olive green and silver bed pants he wore and then at the black and light blue bed pants that were on Naruto. Their clothes were removed when they arrived and they were given these for the time being. Iruka took the hint.

"Clothes will be supplied for you. Oh, we also have replacements for your old clothes." Iruka pointed to the dresser at the side of the room.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I'd hate to go in just these pajama pants." He laughed.

"I'm not sure, I think he migh- Ow!" Kakashi rubbed his side where Iruka had just prodded him with his elbow.

"What was that?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing, nothing! Not a thing that would jeopardize your innocence. Right, Kakashi?" Iruka growled.

"Sure." He replied with an underlying tone of sarcasm.

Haku eyed him cautiously. _'He'd better not try anything funny or I swear…'_

"Haku, ne? Haku! Let's get ready. I'd hate to keep _his majesty_ waiting" The blonde rolled his eyes at the term and laughed. "Hey, are you guys going to be there?"

"I will be there as a servant," Iruka started, "but Kakashi will be there as a part of the castle. He helps teach Sasuke the requirements a future king must reach."

"Hey, that's so cool!" Naruto jumped off of the bed and bounced all the way over to the dresser.

"Iruka-san, would you like to stay and help Naru and I pick out an outfit?" Haku asked politely while following his cousin to the dresser where the blonde stood with a look of puzzlement at the odd assortment of clothes.

"I can help to!" Kakashi announced.

"Sur-" Naruto was cut off.

"No!" Iruka and Haku exclaimed.

"Aw, why not?" Naru and Kakashi whined. That question earned the latter a firm glare from the two others. You could tell by his sunken expression that he had conceded.

Iruka bent down to Naruto's level and smiled brightly. "I'm sorry Naru, but Kakashi has to deliver a message to the Prince now."

Kakashi looked puzzled at that, not remembering if he had made such a statement. He understood what Iruka meant when his feminine counterpart motioned to Naruto with a tic of his head.

"Ah, yes, I do. Sorry, Naru. Some other time maybe." He winked and left the room, giggling like a madman. The tanned brunette sweat-dropped at his lovers actions and then returned his attention back to the two boys, who were already sifting through the many clothes in the dresser.

"Ru-ru, why are most of these clothes leather?" Naruto asked bluntly. Haku was too embarrassed to say much of anything and knew that Naru didn't have a clue what leather was 'used' for (not sexually…well, yes. But he meant like as revealing clothing).

"Well, that's the style of formal wear of course." He relied as though they should've known that. "It's custom to wear at least one piece of leather at a formal party or banquet."

"Oookay…" Haku looked into the closet skeptically. _'Please tell me he's joking.'_ He looked at Iruka's face and sighed. _'damn.' _

"Well, what are we waiting for? It's," he looked at the clock, "noon now. Dinner is when?" Naruto asked.

"Seven." Answered Iruka.

"Yosh! Let's get everything set up. First impressions are most important, ne?"

Iruka smiled at the blonde's enthusiasm.

---------5 and a half hours later--------

Kakashi knocked on the door to the guests' room. When he received no answers he opened the door slowly and cautiously. It was Hell. There were clothes everywhere.

He waded through the sea of clothes and kicked something hard. Looking down he saw what appeared to be a smaller version of the sun. Upon closer inspection he found it to be a sleeping Naruto. A small smile flitted onto his face until he saw something far cuter. His little Iruka was curled up on the bed with clothes all over him. His hair was a mess and he looked like he had been working all day, but that made him look all the cuter.

"Iruka," Kakashi called in a singsong voice, "it's an hour and a half until dinner. Are you and the munchkins ready?"

"Oh no! I have to get ready!" Iruka bolted upright, a pair of pants slid off of the side of his head. "Wake them up, Kakashi, I have to get ready. Thanks so much." He pecked Kakashi's cheek as he ran out of the room.

Kakashi stood there for a moment, trying to hold onto that image of the super cute Iruka and burn it into his mind. With that done, he scanned the room, looking for the other kid. Dragging Naruto by the blonde spikes, he sifted through the clothes until he literally tripped over who he was looking for.

"Alright, I know 'Fashion with Iruka' is tiring, but nap-time is a little excessive."

Haku groaned as he came up for air. "Where's Naru?"

Kakashi pulled his handful of blonde fluff up and Haku had a conniption about how the silver-haired man treated his beloved cousin.

"You now have only an hour left to get ready thanks to that half an hour long lecture on 'Naru-handling'." The older man pointed out.

"What?!" Haku nearly yelled.

Haku got up and pulled Naruto to a section of the bed.

"Come on Naruto, we're going to be late. Get your stuff on." He ordered.

Naru started moving in mechanical-like movements. Sliding the orange cotton wrap onto his stomach and putting the light blue vest over that. The white leather pants went on after that; a hole was cut open in the back so his tails could poke out. His shoes were comfortable looking orange and white sneakers. For accessories there were four white and orange bracelets and a white sash on his neck. The level of formality in this royal family is lower than one would expect.

Haku's outfit consisted of a silver, shiny blouse and over that, a forest green and black pinstripe vest. He wore black leather pants (with the same tail hole as Naruto's) and black dress shoes. His earring was changed to a silver loop but this time it had a forest green, abstract leaf symbol (the Konoha symbol). Many necklaces hung from his neck of silver, green and black colors. His hair was brushed and straightened making it shine under light.

They looked as hot as fire. Kakashi knew that Iruka had a talent of fashion but he had no idea how far that talent went, until today anyway.

"Wow you look great. Are Naru's stitches going to hold if he jumps around again?" Kakashi wondered looking at the boy who looked about ready to be shot out of a cannon.

"I think so. In fact, I think they can be taken out by tomorrow." Naru answered running around the room to prove it.

"Well, it's about thirty minutes til. I think we should pick up Iruka before we go to the dining hall." Kakashi said making his way back toward the door through the clothes.

"Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke." The older man turned around to see the two boys sitting on a chair and paddling with canes through the 'ocean'. "There's a dam blocking the water captain!" Naru shouted.

"Then break it down." Haku replied.

Naruto opened the door and the clothes poured out along with the three occupants inside.

"Wai! Wai! That was so much fun! Let's do it again!" Naruto yelled as he emerged from the mounded of clothes he was under.

"No we have to get Iruka and go to the dinner, we don't want to be late for it right?" Haku offered his hand to help Kakashi out and ran to catch up to Naruto who was running blindly down the halls.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Sasuke was about to beat someone within an inch of their life if this dinner didn't start soon. It was running fifteen minutes late and his day so far had been anything but perfect. He was at least hoping to have a decent dinner.

Just when he was about to strangle his snickering older brother, the doors to the dining room opened to reveal his servant Iruka and teacher Kakashi.

"Where've you been? We've been waiting for you." Sasuke nearly growled with barely restrained agitation.

"Sorry, sorry, Haku and I got lost trying to find Ru-ru's room." Naru admitted stepping out from behind Iruka.

Haku cleared his throat. "Fine. _I_ got lost trying to find Ru-ru's room." Naruto glared at Haku as he sat down next to him and Iruka.

Sasuke's first impression of Naruto: _cute and rape/fuck-able but…_

"Dobe."

"What was that?!"

_**TBC…**_

_-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --_

Nomi: Ah, it's been so long, I'm so sorry. I just really haven't been inspired lately. But thanks to (warning: subliminal advertising) PrincessTeah's awesome writing skills, I have been inspired to finish this chapter. I also hope to get the next one up much sooner than it took to put this one up.

Mol: OMG it's about freaking time! –strangles-

SOL: Can you say tease?

SG: Yeah. I want my Naru now!

Nomi: Since you've all been so patient, I'll leave you with a 'Next Episode' kinda thing.

Next time: Dinner time! Why is Itachi making such obvious passes at Haku? Sasuke! Keep your hands to yourself! Who's jailbait?! And why does Naruto look so damn eatable? All next time!

Nomi: If you don't like how this was written, tell me and I'll change it. And if you have a better title name, I'd love to hear it. If something confuses you or if there are glaring grammatical mistakes, tell me that too. I love you all! Yay!


	4. Scrumptious

Arigato – Thanks, Thank you.

Dobe- Dead last

Teme- Bastard. A derogatory usage of the word.

Otooji- Uncle

Hentai- Pervert

Everyone sat in their seats and the food was finally served. It was a rectangular table and the seating arrangements were as follows; Kakashi at one end then, Iruka, Naruto, and Haku at the other end then, Sasuke, and ending with Itachi. (Think about a rectangle. Kakashi and Haku are at the ends and, Iruka and Naruto on one side, with Itachi and Sasuke). Even though they were royalty, Itachi knew what was too much and an extra long table for two people was a bit much. Since they had guests from time to time it was a moderate length.

We've yet to meet Sasuke, right? Sasuke looked like a younger version of Itachi. He had the same black hair and mysterious black eyes. He had pale skin like many people of that land had. His build was muscular but not heavily bulky, just enough to be intimidating. He wore simple tight blue-jeans and a white short-sleeved shirt that contrasted nicely with his hair. Like his brother, he was also a son of Satan.

'_So this is who Itachi and Kakashi were talking about.' _Sasuke figured in his head as he scanned their guests… well, guest, since his mind hadn't registered Haku's presence yet.

Earlier, Kakashi made a surprise visit to Sasuke's room. He just popped out of no where and started talking about the guests, mostly about some cute blonde boy named Naruto, in the house (mansion). Sasuke had already made plans to visit them when his brother said that the two were 'interesting'. Anything that obtained his older brother's attention deserved a looking at. Kakashi just wouldn't shut up about it and told him that he (Kakashi) told Naruto that Sasuke wanted to have a dinner with him and his cousin.

Sasuke was wondering what was so special about this guest that Kakashi wouldn't stop talking about it. Now he knew.

'_Kakashi sure knows my tastes.' _He mused with a small smirk.

'_He's like a little minx.'_ Sun-shine, blonde hair that looks like he just rolled out of bed, deep, wide, blue eyes, beautiful caramel tanned skin, muscular body but not bulky, a more lithe body that is appealing to the eye, bubbly personality, not at all like the boring blobs that Itachi has to deal with all day, and he could actually tolerate listening to him babble since his voice wasn't shrill. The childish little actions, coupled with the not quite baritone voice, made him exceptionally cute. _'But that sinful little body makes me want to do all sorts of naughty things to him.'_ Sasuke vaguely wondered if Itachi still had that prank gift filled with sex toys that he got him.

Haku glared at Sasuke from across the large dinner table. First, he insulted his precious cousin and then he started giving off these weird vibes. Whatever they were, he didn't like them. His heated gaze slipped from Sasuke to the man he had met a few days before: Mr. Sex on legs himself. He turned away quickly when he was met with burning black eyes. Itachi was staring at him. He dared another glance. _'Ack! He's looking at me like a piece of meat!' _He turned away again, fidgeting in his mental turmoil.

Itachi on the other hand was having so much fun making his prey hide. The look of panic and embarrassment was so tasty; he wanted to lick it away to a more pleasured expression. From what he's seen and heard he was also a very kind person (Stalker!). Perfect. And with that, his mind was decided. He smirked at the cute boy at the end of the table.

"You will be my wife." He declared smugly.

You could hear a pin drop at the silence.

"What?" Haku twitched.

"You heard me. You will be my wife."

"Hell no!" He shouted, slamming his hands on the table. However, with the force he used, it made the table unstable and knocked the food to one side.

Right.

On.

Naruto.

Everyone else jumped out of the way, but Naruto was enjoying his ramen so much that failed to notice the many bowls and dishes coming his way in time to move.

He sat there covered head to toe with food and a bowl of spaghetti on his head that was tilted ever-so-slightly and made him look so adorable.

All was silent. Wait…was that a…-sniff-.

"Naru! I'm so sorry!" Haku cried a bit melodramatically and ran to the aid of his cousin.

Crystalline drops of tears weld in Naru's eyes. Sasuke swore he was going to die of a nose bleed. Itachi was enjoying watching Haku get so worked up and his little brother's expression of 'restraint', if you could call it that. More like, 'barely hanging on'. Iruka was torn between cleaning up the mess and joining Haku in fussing over Naruto. He chose the latter in the end. Kakashi was in the same ballpark as Itachi except, instead of Haku, he was watching Iruka.

Naru was just sitting on his butt, on the verge of tears, and looking to a space a little bit away from him. There, about three feet away, on the ground, was a tipped over cup of ramen.

His ears drooped as he picked up the cup in a 'moment of silence' for the death of his beloved.

Haku took the bowl off of his head and a stray noodle landed on his nose. Sasuke really, _really_ wanted to eat that noodle right off of his face. _'He looks, literally, eatable.'_ He thought. Naruto innocently stuck out his tongue and sucked it in, smiling as he did so. _'He has to be doing that on purpose. He can't be that naïve, can he?'_

"Haku –sniff- my…my..." _'Your what? Whatever it is, I'll get it for you. Just name it.' _Sasuke thought. _'Ah, what the hell? No I wouldn't! I most certainly will not. But just look at him…'_ (Nomi: Denial! XD)

"My ramen!" He cried, hugging Haku's leg.

Inner Sasuke fell back. _'He's such a… such a…'_

"Dobe."

"Teme! What was that?!" Naru shot back.

"Language, Naru!" Haku reprimanded.

"Sorry." He muttered.

Haku turned his attention back to the mess. He felt really guilty and looked at Iruka who looked slightly stressed.

"I'm sorry Iruka-san. I'd like to help if I could."

Iruka looked up, about to say 'no', when he saw the guilt-stricken face. He knew that if he declined the offer, it would make him feel worse, so he simply nodded his head and instructed him on what he could do.

"That's nice of you to help Ru-ru, Haku." Naruto smiled.

'_Ru-ru? That's so cute!' _Kakashi giggled on the inside and decided to use that as his new pet name for Iruka.

He crouched down next to Naruto. "You need a bath now." He sighed and looked up. "Sasuke, help him out. He doesn't know where thing are and he might need help with his stitches." Kakashi hoisted Naru up and shooed him over to Sasuke.

Naruto grudgingly followed Sasuke up the stairs. He was pouting like only a Naruto could. His ears twitched sporadically because of the gunk in his hair. His lower lip was jutted out and he had splotches of food on his person. Sasuke thought it was horribly cute.

They finally made it to the bathroom. Naruto was about to go in when he noticed that Sasuke was still there. He stared at him, trying to telepathically tell him to leave. When it was obvious that Sasuke wasn't going to leave he snapped.

"What the HELL are you still doing here?!" He yelled.

"Language, Naru." Sasuke mocked Haku previous tone.

Naruto glared at him and flipped him the bird while walking into the bathroom. Sasuke stood there and laughed, then followed him in. The blonde already had his jacket and wrap off and was working on his pants when he turned around and blushed.

"Why are you in here?!" He squealed, falling on the toilet seat in shock.

'_That was incredibly girly.' _Sasuke mused, wondering if Naruto himself noticed it. That would be an affirmative seeing how he stood up indignantly with his arms crossed.

"You heard Kakashi. He told me to help you. I'm only listening to my teacher. It's not like I want to." Sasuke scoffed, knowing full well that if it were any other circumstance, he would've ignored the silver haired man.

"Whatever." Naruto walked over to the shower and turn the faucet somewhere between warm and hot.

Sasuke just sat on the sink and watched Naruto take his pants off.

Inner Sasuke- Whheeeee! Yay! Strip tease! Victory! –Running around in circle and jumping up and down- (I can totally imagine this! xD)

He finally got to the boxers and you could here Sasuke's nails digging into the granite of the sink.

"Turn around." Naruto deadpanned.

Sasuke could only force out a very smart, "wha?"

"I said, 'turn around'." Naruto faced Sasuke and glared.

The Raven turned around grudgingly and fumed inside.

Inner Sasuke- Ah! Fate is but a cruel mistress! Why, Naru? Why?! –Lying on the ground, pounding the floor with his fists and crying, aka, a temper tantrum-

He heard the bath water being disturbed and turned around to see Naru settling into the water. Crouching next to the tub and he starred at his feet, sulking at his misfortune.

Naruto was now washing his hair with the strawberry scented shampoo. The whole scene made Sasuke go into fantasy land. It was when Naruto cleared his throat that he realized that he developed a _'problem' _but ignored it in favor of listening to Naruto.

He had a pretty blush on his face, obviously concerned about something.

"Could you, um…" Naru mumbled.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked.

"Could you wash my back?" He asked louder and blushed furiously.

"Why?"

"Some of the spaghetti went down the jacket. Look." He turned around and showed the spots that he couldn't quite reach were caked in sauce.

Sasuke withheld a nose bleed and held out his hand expectantly. "Give me the washcloth." He said with a commanding tone. It was dropped into his hand.

He went to work, scrubbing the little kitsune's back. Sasuke was enjoying every time he'd wash Naru's mid-back because he'd moan lightly and arch himself. Smirking, he went lower and lower still. Under the water and around the tails. Just grazing the beautiful behind when something caught his eye. The stitches.

They looked painful. There was one gash in front and one on his back. A through and through. He looked up at Naruto's face worriedly.

"How did that happen?" He found himself asking.

"What?" Naruto looked genuinely puzzled.

"Those stitches. What happened?" Sasuke asked again.

"What happened?" He repeated.

'"_Aniki!" Maki cried as she ran out. Naruto and Haku tried to make a grab for her but she slipped through their fingers. They had no choice and followed her out, to take he back to safety._

_The men saw them and three of them, with their guns, took aim and fired. Aki screamed in agony, forced to watch this painful vision. Naruto was shot through the stomach and you could see the bullet come out of the other side. He cried loudly in pain, but tried so hard to remain standing to protect his 'sister'. Haku was shot in the left leg and collapsed to the side. He too tried hard, crawling trying to somehow save his sister._

_It was in vain, however, as the little girl stood in the direct path of a bullet aimed straight for her heart. Time passed slowly. Aki wailed on, Naruto sobbed when he saw what was going to happen trying against fate to stop what was inevitable; Haku crawled using his arms army style to reach her._

_And then, time resumed normally and hit them all hard. A short high shriek came from Maki's mouth and she fell over, dying immediately.'_

Suddenly, his eyes went blank and started sinking into the tub. Sasuke grabbed him as quickly as he could and held him to his chest. He looked at the blonde's closed eyes and wondered what happened.

"Naruto?...Dobe?" Sasuke lightly smacked his cheek a few times and gave up. Standing up, he walked out of the bathroom, swiping a towel as he left.

He called Iruka, Kakashi, and the nurses up, knowing full well that Haku would come too, stalked by Itachi.

Sasuke place Naruto gently on his (Sasuke's) bed and wrapped the towel around his waist.

"What happened, Naru?"

'_Hito-otooji…' _Naruto mumbled in his sleep.

_**TBC…**_

Nomi: Ah, it took another month to put this up. I'm gonna cry.

Mol: Bout frickin' time.

SOL: Well, at least little Haku know I want his tight little ass –grope-

Haku: Hentai! –slaps-

SG: At least I can enjoy the sights without him knowing

Naru: Who? Do you have a crush on Haku too?

SG: -pats him on the head- No. –smirking evilly-

Mol: Go get'im tiger! (to SG)

Nomi: No! No smexy BL until I say so! There will be drama in probably the next two chapters and Ill definitely put in humor. Peace, love, and BL.

Both: Ja! R&R Please!


	5. Sleeping Beauty, Noah, and Friends

Naruto tossed and turned in his memory induced sleep. His dreams, obviously painful from the moaning and sweating he did. In Sasuke's mind, the only time anyone ever had those reactions was when they were having sex. Sasuke was in no terms, a prude and he was about to joke about his sudden reverie when Itachi leaned over to his ear to whisper something.

"Maybe you could pull a 'Sleeping Beauty' on him?" He suggested slyly. "I mean, Haku's not in the room or anything." Itachi pointed out. That's about when Sasuke noticed the other boy not hanging off of Naruto or sobbing around the room.

"A 'Sleeping Beauty'?" Sasuke questioned, an amused smirk plastered on his face.

"You know? Just peck him on the lips. Then the 'Princess' will wake up." He elaborated, using little finger quotations in the air.

"Why do I have to kiss the dobe?" The littlest Uchiha whined, but on the inside was jumping and squealing proclamations of Boy Love. Sasuke wondered when the hell he became so screwed up in the head.

Shrugging his shoulders, Sasuke approached the whimpering blonde. He turned his head sharply and glared at Itachi. "Don't you have a cousin to stalk?"

"Oh, that's right!" Was said like it was a normal occurrence to stalk someone.

Sasuke watched the older man leave, making it only him and Naruto in the room. Haku, Iruka and the nurses had left about five minutes ago, which made Kakashi leave too in favor of staying with Iruka. Haku and the dolphin still had a mess down stairs to clean up and the nurses saw fit to leave Naruto in the care of the masters.

He sat at the edge of the seemingly permanent guest's bed. Small tickles of wind teased him from the open window. Not enough to shudder, but enough to feel a chill. Loose, dark hair whisped around Naruto's face when Sasuke bent down. Sasuke could see each, individual blonde eyelash resting on plump cheeks. He moved forward again, finally meeting the full pink lips from the form below him.

Electricity trailed down his spine. He opened his eyes that he didn't remember closing. Wide, blue orbs met his obsidian ones and he snapped away.

Naruto stayed stalk-still, lying in the same position, trying to figure out what just happened. Sasuke simply stood and strode to the high, tall window, his back to Naru.

"Teme, how long have I been here?" Naruto asked.

He turned around to face Naruto who was then sitting up in bed. Slight shock was on his face. Had Naruto not been awake enough? Or was he just playing it off as nothing.

"About three hours, not too long." He replied slowly.

Naruto seemed to accept the answer and got up and stretched, then looked down.

"When'd I change into pajamas?" He plucked the familiar light, blue bed pants and flicked his golden tails behind him.

"Well, you fainted in the tub, so I brought you here. Then, Iruka changed you." Naru nodded as he spoke, taking in the room around him. It was larger and grander than the room he was staying in, but the color scheme was the same, maroon and navy blue. It was in an octagon shape with tall windows all around. In front of each window was a window-seat. If you look to the right of the room when you enter you can see a connected bathroom where white flashed brightly from behind the door. The bed was at least a king, maybe bigger.

"This is my room." Sasuke answered for him. "Why don't you go find Haku, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you up and awake." He made a shooing motion with a few waves of his hand.

Naruto huffed indignantly but smiled anyway and nearly skipped out of the room.

The ravenette sighed and flopped backwards on his bed. This behavior that he was exhibiting was very out of character for him. He massaged the palms of his hands into his eyes, pushing away an oncoming headache. It was obvious that his life was going to take a dramatic turn very soon.

-----

Naruto walked down the hallway in search of the Dining Hall once again. It was a long hall with a long, thin, red carpet on the granite floor and tall, clear windows lining the center of the walls. He felt so much better but, he also felt anxious about confronting Haku concerning that dream he had.

He kept going until his ADHD impaired eyes caught the garden through the windows beside him. It was so beautiful and he rushed to find an exit to the splendor.

The night chilled him when he stepped out but a full moon illuminated his path. Naruto ran around the corner of the outside of the mansion. Finally, he saw the garden. Pretty blues and reds, pinks and yellows, oranges and purples, it was magnificent to him.

He bent down and smiled brightly at them while stroking some of the petals. Ever since he could remember, he's loved nature, to a certain extreme. If not for a weird noise, he would've continued admiring the flowers. It sounded like a pained mewl and he pushed away some plants to reveal bright gold fur.

Naruto, curiosity peaked, completely exposed the animal and found blood stains on the hair. He panicked and, as gently as he could, picked it up and carried it inside.

"Haku! Haku! I need help!" He shouted as he entered the Dining Hall.

Haku dropped his mop and rushed over to him. "What's the matter?" He asked, concerned.

"It's Noah." The blonde held up the panting gold fox.

"Noah?" Haku noticed the bite marks in his stomach. Iruka and Kakashi walked over, hearing the commotion

"That what I named him. He's hurt really bad." Naruto was nearly crying.

"Is there a doctor in the house?" (Had to XD) Haku shouted.

"Did someone call for a doctor?!" The door slammed open, causing another feminine screech to come from Naruto.

"Yes, do you work with pets?" Haku asked.

"I could. What's the issue?" The blonde woman wondered.

"This fox is bleeding out and it needs help." Haku said seriously.

She looked at him and then the fox and nodded, taking the fox, she placed it on the floor next to her bag.

Tsunade was her name. She was a busty, curvy woman with blonde hair, in two loose pig-tails. Her clothes consisted of a tight-fitting, forest green tee-shirt, a white blouse over top and plain jeans that covered her legs.

She checked the animal's vitals, nodded and checked the teeth and eyes. Something about the eyes made her face turn to a disapproving look.

Then, Tsunade pulled out sutures and a needle and started stitching the bite marks in the small stomach.

Naruto blinked when she finished up. She was quick, very skilled apparently.

"That should do." She smiled and cleaned her hands with a moist towel. "Make sure to clean the wound."

Naruto smiled softly as he picked the little fox up. It was a foot long and six inches tall. His fur was golden with orange on the end of his tail and tips of his ears. He had adorably wide, blue eyes that would make you, 'awwww,' if you saw them.

"I wonder why he was hiding in the garden though." Naruto whispered, poking the little kit in the nose.

"I think it was because he heard the gardener's voices. He must've been attacked. You see," Tsunade moved her finger from the left to the right in front of Noah's eyes, which didn't move, "He's blind, well, in one eye. His right."

"So he was looking for help from where he heard people?" Tsunade nodded at Iruka's guess.

"Tsunade, this is Naruto and Haku by the way. Haku, Naruto, this is Tsunade." Iruka introduced them.

Tsunade ruffled both their hair but started walking toward the door leading to the hallway. "Sorry guys, I have to go to the clinic in town. I hope I don't see you there." She smiled, meaning that she didn't want to see them hurt for some odd reason.

Iruka asked to see Noah and Naruto handed the sleeping ball of fluff to the gentle man.

"I wonder if the masters will let us keep him." Kakashi asked out loud.

The doors slammed open and Itachi strutted in. "Of course he can stay!" He said dramatically.

"Really?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Of course. Would I lie to you?" He smiled. It looked, rusty, in the way that it seemed he hadn't done it in a while.

Haku smiled sincerely. "That's nice, isn't it?"

Itachi glomped Haku. "So cute."

"Get off of me, weirdo!" Haku cried, looking at the others for help.

Kakashi started cracking up and Iruka bit his lip for laughing out loud.

"But he called you cute, isn't that a good thing?" Naru asked curiously.

"It's a good thing, truly. But when he says it…" Haku let the sentence hang, and gave up. Prying the leech off of his arm, he went back over to Naruto.

"Play with Noah a lot okay. We do have to get back home soon." Haku pointed out.

Naruto's entire disposition saddened. He had forgotten about that.

Itachi exclaimed loudly, "No. You'll stay here at the palace."

"But-" Haku started.

"Nope, it's settled, you'll live here."

"That's great! Maybe Maki could come too? Aki's going to be a warrior, so he's heading out into the Forest. Mom and Aunty, have to stay home, 'cause they have work, right?" Naruto asked, hanging off of Haku's shoulders.

"Yeah." Haku answered quickly. "We still have to go back; I need to tell the elder where we are."

"That's fine." Itachi plopped down into a chair that was relatively clean sans the stray noodle hanging from it.

"I'll send you with Iruka then, as an escort." Itachi included.

Haku involuntarily twitched. _'This guy has mood swings faster than Naru does.' _He sniggered mentally.

"So we're heading back home then?" Naruto asked.

"Actually, you can stay here if you want." He offered.

"Would that be okay? I want to make sure Noah's fine." The blonde asked carefully. He really wanted to go home but the kit seemed to push to the front of his mind.

"That's fine. I'll go tomorrow." He paused. "Is there anything you want me to tell anyone while I'm there?" He added as an afterthought.

"Yeah. Tell everyone that I'll see them soon." He smiled. "By the way, I want to talk to you about this weird nightmare I had when you get the chance."

Haku bit his lip. "Let's talk about it after I get back." He suggested.

"Sure."

The door bell rang, startling Naruto and Haku half to death. It was followed by loud shouting and subtle protesting; most likely the guests.

Haku saw Itachi shake his head in annoyance and saw Iruka grin happily.

"Sasuke, your classmates are here." He called down the hall. You could here it echo throughout the house. Haku was still unsure if it was to tell him or warn him.

"Itachi, dude." An obnoxious voice made its presence known.

"You call me Itachi-Sama, flee-bag." Itachi growled and plucked the boys arm from off of his shoulders.

"Troublesome." A boy with a pineapple shaped head moaned. Another boy with vibrant red hair stood silent behind him, but nodded his head.

"You'd've thought that moron would've learned by now." That was said by a boy with long brown hair and peculiar white eyes, probably a 'Blind' Prophet.

Naruto suddenly felt a tug on his ears. "Nyan." He cried. "Wha-what is it?" He asked.

"Dude, they are real. And that was the girly-est noise I've ever heard." The same person who pestered Itachi commented.

"I've been wondering his gender for a long time now, myself." Everyone looked toward the door to see Sasuke standing there.

"Teme! I'm a guy. You know that by now, I'm sure." Naruto gave him a secretive glance and he damn near choked.

"Sasuke?! You didn't!" The annoying one known as Kiba shouted disbelieving.

"I think he's just as shocked as you are." The 'Blind' Prophet called Neji pointed out.

"No, I didn't!" Sasuke snapped.

"No need to get defensive, I was only talking about the bath."

"Bath?!" Neji's eye twitched. Shikamaru, the boy with the pineapple shaped head, gave Sasuke a look like he was facing a pedophile.

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't do anything. You're misunderstanding." Sasuke composed himself once more.

"Who are you guys?" Naruto asked.

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka! I'm a dog demon and this is Akamaru, my dog. The white-eyed guy over there is Neji Hyuuga, a Blind Prophet if you can't tell. Over there with the far and distant look is Shikamaru Nara, he thinks everything is troublesome. He's a genius for a human. And that quiet red-haired guy is Gaara Sabaku. He is a manipulator and his power is sand. Cool, huh? We're all Sasuke's classmates." Kiba smiled a large toothy grin at the fox boy.

"My name is Naruto and this is my cousin Haku." He pointed at Haku. "We're both fox demons. Over there in Iruka's arms is Noah, the new fox on the block." Naruto smiled and bowed in greeting. Raising his head, he caught Sasuke's stare at Noah.

"Oh yeah, I just found him by the way Sasuke. He was injured, so I couldn't just leave him there. I hope you understand, if you want to let him go again, that's fine, but please wait until he's healed." He bowed again toward Sasuke.

Sasuke looked somewhere out in the distance, refusing to look at the cute gesture by the blonde. "Its fine, he can stay." He noticed one of his guests eyeing Naruto, namely Gaara.

"Alright, now, what do you guys want?" Itachi asked.

"We wanted to see if Sasuke wanted to go out tomorrow, but it seems he has guests." Neji answered, looking at Naruto and then Haku, resting his eyes longer than needed on Haku. Itachi growled in his throat.

"I can go, I guess. You guys want to come?" Sasuke was talking to the two cousins.

"I can't. I should rest before going back to the village. It's quite the trip." Haku said. "But Naru can."

"Cool, I'd love to go." Naruto smiled happily and clapped his hands together as if finalizing something. "I think though, that we should go to bed. It's really late out and it's not safe for you to walk around at night."

'_He's like a housewife/mother. It's kinda cute when you think about it.' _Sasuke thought.

A very faint blushed rested on Gaara's cheeks and he looked away. He grunted and nodded his head, signaling that he agreed. That's something no one dared go against, except the stoics like Itachi, Sasuke, or Neji.

"Fine, see you guys tomorrow." Shikamaru drawled while walking out of the room, the others following at their own lethargic pace.

"Neji had better watch where he's looking or Itachi's going to get him." Sasuke mumbled to himself. _'Same goes for Gaara.'_

"Come on guys. Doesn't a nice comfy bed sound nice right now?" Naruto tempted.

'_With a fox boy tied down on it, yeah.' _Inner Sasuke supplied an image.

"It really does, doesn't it Iruka? Kakashi?" Haku turned around to find an empty space where Iruka and Kakashi should've been. The little fox was cradled in his arms. He didn't even notice it being placed there.

"Guess they're way ahead of us." Haku laughed.

Naruto skipped out of the room and into the hall, his cousin and the two Uchiha brothers, right behind him.

"Good night everyone. Pleasant dreams." The blonde waved as he walked into his room after climbing the stairs.

Everyone returned the gesture and left to their own quarters.

Naruto fell asleep instantly, anticipating the day ahead of him. Itachi drifted to bed while thinking about his beloved Haku.

'_I'll be able to spend some time with him tomorrow. I hope nothing _too_ weird happens.' _Sasuke prayed before letting sleep take him.

'_I'm not looking forward to explaining what happened to Naruto, I just have this feeling that is what he wanted to talk about. I wonder what the elder will say when I tell him where we'll be. It will be eventful tomorrow, I can just feel it.' _ Haku felt a chill but let it slide and slept.

_**TBC…**_

Nomi: I'm so sorry for making you all wait so long and for this measly chapter. I'm just kicking myself over here. My updates are going to be fewer and farther between until summer break starts, I'm sorry. They'll be there; there'll just be less of them. I thought I'd give you fair warning.

Mol: I will kill you for making us wait 39 days for this.

Nomi: I have a plot in mind but if you have a request for something that you want to happen, let me know and I'll try to make it happen. I love all my readers and I'd probably do anything for them.

If you don't like this, tell me and I'll rewrite it a different way.

Until Next time-hopefully sooner than a month.

Both: Ja! R&R please!


	6. A Trip to Paradise Or Not

Clearing up some confusion:

Sasuke: 17

Itachi: 20

Neji- 'Blind Prophet': Neji isn't blind. It's the title. The first bloodline prophet received his abilities from being blind and so the title was named so. (Made up by me XD) (Thanks for pointing that out BakedBunny)

Itai: Ow!

Itachi gives about seventy-five percent of king's rights to Sasuke. Giving him paper-work and has him go to assemblies. This is so he will learn what his role as king will be. Explained more thoroughly in later chapters.

I changed Noah's name to Kyuubi, if you didn't know.

EDIT: I changed it back to Noah, sorry guys. I promise that is the last change.

-A Trip to Paradise…or Not-

Sasuke always woke up slowly and it took him a while to gather his senses before realizing he was in his bed. This morning however, was strange to him. His eyes remained shut; he hadn't gathered enough energy to open them yet. That part was normal for him though. He woke with an odd sensation around his stomach. It was warm, like someone was pressed against his abdomen. Like some sort of fantasy, he thought it might have been Naruto. He had a happy sensation just by the thought and he hugged the body close to himself.

Then his awareness of touch kicked in and felt something off about this body. One) It was far too small to be Naruto…or a baby for that matter and Two) It was furry. Sasuke's eyes snapped open to see two round, blue eyes peering up at him. He let go of Noah and he jumped off of the bed with a yelp. Sasuke sat up and let out an annoyed sound.

---

"Ngh…" A strained groan escaped full pink lips. The sun bathed the tanned boys face ruthlessly.

"It's too early to be morning." Naruto whined, sitting up and stretching. He heard a yelp and a frustrated moan.

"That was weird, wasn't it Noah?" The door to his room squeaked open about a foot and a little blonde fox jumped onto his bed.

"Hey, little guy, feelin' better?" He nuzzled Noah's nose and he mewed as an affirmative. "Good, let's go see how Haku is, Okay? He's leaving today, remember?" Noah mewed again. Then, he left into the hallway and shuffled to Haku's room.

---

Haku woke up with a kink in his neck. _'God, it hur- huh? I can't move.' _He wiggled around a bit, feeling himself locked in place. Finally gaining the smarts to open his eyes, he looked around frantically. He looked down and saw two arms circling his midsection. _'Who?' _

"Morning, sunshine." Came a low, sultry voice from behind him.

"WAHH!" Haku screamed, leaping out of the arms with all his might. The action caused him to fall to the floor. "Itai…" He groaned, rubbing his head and sat on his knees.

"Is that a way to great your future husband?" He asked in mock hurt.

"Husband my ass! Agh!" Haku slammed his face into the mattress and groaned loudly. He couldn't be mean to the man who gave him a home. The elders would waste no time giving them a new home with the palace, but he thought wiser than to suddenly throw Naruto into the hectic world of owning a kingdom. Jiraiya would most likely rule in their absence. _'Hopefully we won't be gone for too long.' _Haku sweat-dropped at the thought.

Besides, being in a castle, maybe Naruto can learn a few things. That was the other reason that Haku would put up with this.

"Uh, Sir, can you plea-?" Haku started to ask Itachi to let go of him when a tentative knocked rounded on his door.

"Haku, are you up yet?" Naruto's voice called through the door. The handle jiggled a bit.

Spasmodically, Haku tackled Itachi and pushed him off of the other side of the bed. When the door opened, Naruto saw nothing but and unmade bed. "I guess he already went downstairs." He left with that and shuffled down the hall again.

Once Haku thought it was safe, he sighed and sat up. _'That was close, I'm sure he would've thought something bad.' _He was broken from his reverie when he heard a deliberate cough. Looking down, he noticed he was straddling Itachi and he quickly flung himself off of him. He was spewing several apologies, Itachi thought he heard some in other languages.

Itachi got up and walked over to the door. "If you wanted me that badly, you could've just said so but…" He pecked Haku's nose before he left. "I'm going to be on top." And he left.

Haku was fuming inside. He furiously wiped at his nose; ridding himself of the pervert germs. Being the pacifist he was; he contented himself with just imagining beating the ever-living pervert out of him.

---

"Ah Ru-ru, good morning. Did you sleep well?" Naruto asked, seeing the dolphin walking down the hallway.

"You could say that." A blush crept onto his face. Iruka refused to make eye contact with Naru.

"That's good. Where are you going?" He asked.

"To the kitchen to make sure breakfast is going well." As if on cue, Naruto's stomach growled. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Come with me then. Once we're done there, I can take you to the infirmary so Tsunade can look at your stitches. Okay?" The older man offered

"'Kay!" Naruto agreed and walked with him to the kitchen.

Iruka poked his head into the kitchen where two cooks were preparing breakfast. It was funny to watch two grown men meticulously placing pieces of cereal into a bowl, one by one. '_The Uchiha's must be picky'._ Naruto shook his head.

"Good job guys, don't give up!" Naruto cheered and walked away with Iruka after getting thankful smiles from the two.

"Tsunade should be in by now." Iruka said absently.

"That's good. Hey Ru-ru? Do you know how I got this?" Naruto pointed at his stomach.

"I wasn't told. You don't know?" Naru shook his head. "You should ask Haku later then." The blonde smiled and nodded.

They rounded a corner and Naruto crashed. Whatever it was, it was warm and soft. He pulled his face away and looked up into the blazing eyes of Tsunade. "Eep! I'm sorry I didn't mean to!" Too late. The other blonde lifted her arm and bonked him on the head roughly.

"Itai! I said I was sorry."

"And I heard you." She said simply. Stepping back, she allowed the two to enter.

Iruka sat in a chair next to the stool that Naruto sat on. The stark white room blinded them both for a moment until they adjusted to it.

"Alright, brat. Let me see what we have here." Tsunade addressed him.

Naru huffed and lifted his shirt midway for Tsunade to see. She stepped back a bit.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Iruka looked over and saw what startled her so much.

Any sign of the injury, other than the stitches, were gone.

"What?" Naruto asked. "Aren't you going to take the string out?"

"They're called stitches, stop calling it string. How'd it heal so fast? She questioned him. In accordance to her new discovery, she looked at the exit wound which was also gone save the stitches.

"I'm a fox demon, it's a gift. Now can you take these out, they itch."

"Sure, sure." Tsunade opened a sterilized drawer and pulled out a pair of tape scissors. Before she did anything, she coated the areas with alcohol. Then, she cut the sutures on each side and removed them. "All done."

"Good. Thanks a lot Obaa-san." He laughed and narrowly escaped the scissors aimed at his head. "Come on Ru-ru!" The Kitsune tugged the man out of the room with him, dodging medical supplies all the while.

With the pace down to a normal flow again, the two made their way to the dining hall where breakfast was sure to be ready.

They entered and saw that everyone was there. Sasuke had a peeved look on his face and was glaring at Noah. Haku refused to look at Itachi. Itachi was smirking at Haku and 'subtly' inching toward him. Kakashi had a longing look in his eyes that was aimed at Iruka. Said brunette coughed as a nervous habit.

"Glad to see you're all awake." Iruka greeted.

Naruto ran to sit next to Haku and Iruka sat next to Kakashi. The main servant and the advisor/teacher ate with the two royal brothers because it suited both parties. Should either need something, their servant was there and should Sasuke or Itachi need to go over speeches and whatnot, Kakashi was there to help. Everyone else in the palace ate when it best suited them.

"Did everyone sleep well?" Naruto asked. Half of his replies were groans, the other half were cheers; a bitter-sweet answer one might say.

---

Breakfast was relevantly quiet. A few protests from Haku when he found a hand where it shouldn't have been. Also an odd happening when Kakashi called Naruto away from the table for a moment. Haku and Iruka were on top guard at that instance. Other than that, it was quite peaceful. _'Must be the calm before the storm.' _ Haku thought on edge.

Afterwards, Iruka left to pack, which took him no more than ten minutes. They stood in the front courtyard. Haku in a death-grip hug. "Be safe okay and come back soon, okay?"

"I will. You be safe too, okay?" Naruto released Haku from the hug.

Kakashi was crying all over Iruka. The dolphin was trying desperately to pry the man off of his arm. "Come on Kakashi, it's only one night without it." Kakashi's crying increased ten-fold.

The silver-haired man's tears became his undoing as he was easily slid off of the arm. "Ru-ru!" He cried. But he and Haku were already out of the gate.

"Bye!" They both waved and wondered down the path to the forest.

---

Sasuke soon disappeared into his room again no more than ten minutes after the two left. He busied himself with paper work that Itachi so gracefully dumped on him. A knock on the door interrupted Sasuke. "Who is it? I'm busy." He said coldly. There was no answer for a moment.

"It's Naruto." It was faint, but he heard it.

"Come in."

The boy came in and stood in the center of his room. It was about noon and the room was lit up with no need for lights. Three tails waved behind him.

"What have you come in here for, dobe?" Sasuke asked and turned his chair around.

Naruto was wearing a loose fitting, black tank-top that slipped off of his shoulder every so often. He had on orange cargo pants, rolled up to the knee.

Sasuke had changed into a pair of black jeans and a deep red, tight, tank-top. His hair was pulled back into a pony-tail to keep the hair out of his face.

"I was wondering what you were doing since I didn't see you after breakfast." The younger answered.

"Hn, working." Sasuke turned back around to his papers.

Naruto stood behind Sasuke and read over his shoulder.

A vein throbbed in his forehead; it was a pet-peeve of his when others read over his shoulder. "What do you want now?"

"I was wondering what this document was about." Naruto asked, staring intently at the letter.

Sasuke heard a tone in his voice that sounded like he genuinely wanted to learn.

---

Two hours later found Itachi at Sasuke's door. He opened it silently and looked in. The two moved from the desk and to the large bed. They were in a deep conversation about the pros and cons of higher taxes. Sasuke sat with his back against the headboard and two pillows behind him to make it comfortable. He wore a pair of reading glasses. Naruto was lying on his back with Noah curled upon his stomach. He played with his ears gently while trying to keep up with the things Sasuke was telling him.

It was a mock government meeting. The world was run by government, even tribes and villages stood by the ways of administration.

"I still say that you shouldn't raise the taxes. It should stay as is, because there's nothing wrong with it." Naruto pointed out. "If no one's fighting it and the kingdom is still benefited, I don't see an issue."

"It's all a matter of thinking ahead of the game. We have allying kingdoms requesting funding for new research in medicine and warfare." Sasuke explained, giving a scenario.

"But there's money in the reserves for that, so there's really no excuse for higher taxes." Naruto said wisely.

The Prince smirked, proud that he taught Naruto so well. "Good job for a dobe." Naruto growled lowly.

Itachi choose this time to make his presence known by clapping in a form of applause. "Nice job, Naru." The boy's face tinted red. "So this is what you two have been up to this whole time."

"What is it Itachi?" Sasuke asked hotly, not enjoying the intrusion a bit.

"I came to tell you that your friends are here." Itachi lied. Sasuke knew full well if that were the case he would've just sent someone else up. He glared at him suspiciously. "And to make sure that you didn't do anything untoward to Naruto."

"Like I would ever." Sasuke scoffed, turning his head back to the documents.

"Pfft, like I'd let him." Naruto scoffed back.

"Good. Come on Naruto, you should head to the foyer. Now you get your ass up, Sasuke. The dog boy's pissing me off." Itachi growled.

Naruto got up with Noah and went downstairs, leaving Itachi and Sasuke alone.

"Itachi, don't do that again. I can handle things my own way."

"So sending mixed messages is 'handling it'? Teaching him kindly one moment and insulting him the next?" The eldest Uchiha looked at his brother disapprovingly.

"And forcing your love on Haku is working out fine?" Sasuke shot back.

"Just as fine as I want it to." Itachi smirked.

"I'm not making a move yet, because I don't want to. Hell Itachi, I don't even know if I love him yet!"

"You should find out fast before that Gaara makes his move, you know his ways and they aren't pretty."

Sasuke glared. Yeah, he knew what Gaara would do if he sunk his teeth in far enough. "I have to go, will you go to the assembly for me?" He asked.

Itachi nodded and watched Sasuke leave. He hoped that it would work out for his brother in the end.

---

"Haku, do you know where we're going?" Iruka asked, becoming increasingly worried as they went deeper into the forest.

"Yes, we're almost there in fact. We past the waterfall about five miles back so it won't be long." Haku answered.

"What's your village like?"

"It's beautiful," Haku said wistfully, "everyone is kind and so many people live there. We lived in a dojo with my mom, sister, brother and my aunt who's Naruto's mom. The trees tower over everything and the palace hall sits in them, it's the loveliest thing there." A bitter-sweet smile sat on Haku's face that Iruka failed to notice.

"It sounds nice."

"It looks even better." Haku looked up to see a small tree-house and smiled. "Hurry up, it's just passed this brush." He ran ahead of Iruka and through the foliage.

"Oh. God." Iruka heard him say after he lost sight of him.

"Haku? Are you okay?" The tanned man followed him through the leaves. His eyes widened in horror.

---

Sasuke finally made it downstairs where Naruto and his friends were chatting animatedly.

"And then Sasuke was like," Naruto sharpened his eyes to a mysterious glower and spoke in a deep voice, "…Dobe." Then he puffed out his cheeks. "Can you believe him?!"

Kiba guffawed at the impersonation. "Dude, that sounds just like him." He leaned on Neji for support.

"I do not sound like that." The room turned toward the door. Even Noah looked at the intruder.

"Yes you do." Kiba laughed at him.

'_Why do I hang out with him?' _Sasuke moaned mentally.

"Are you ready princess?" Shikamaru smirked. The raven scowled as Kiba's laughs rose in volume; it said 'way to encourage him, moron'.

"Whatever, let's go." With that, everyone left.

They made their way down the lengthy pathway, out the gates, through thin woods, and finally into town. _'Dang, Uchiha's must like their privacy.' _Naruto thought wryly.

The group was walking through the town quietly while Naruto was looking at everything. He examined street carts, people, and windows which earned him a few slaps in the face. It reminded him of his village and the people were so friendly. He rubbed his cheek absently.

"Stand in one place, Foxy." The dog boy grabbed Naruto's wrist.

"Foxy?" Gaara questioned.

Kiba seemed to have been waiting for that question. He tugged on Naruto's ears again.

"Nyan!" He mewled and a soft blush jumped on his cheeks. Noah looked at him worriedly. "D-don't do that."

"Point proven."

Naruto glared at Kiba and smacked him over the head, "Dog boy!"

Sasuke closed his eyes, burning the look into his mind. Gaara seemed to be doing the same thing. Neji and Shikamaru shared a look.

Finally, the six entered the forest on the far side of the town. Kiba was relatively quiet, looking around at the trees and petting Akamaru. Sasuke, Neji, and Gaara walked silently behind everyone else. Shikamaru and Naruto –with Noah resting on top of his head- were walking in the front of the pack, not speaking.

The lazy genius was staring at the sky that you could just barely see through the high canopy of trees. He thought that going on trips like these was troublesome. Too many loud things but at least he could cloud-gaze in a beautiful place. He looked down gruffly when he felt a tug at his sleeve. "Yes?"

"Do you like the trees?" Naru asked.

"I like clouds more."

"That's nice. Clouds are so lucky, aren't they?" Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow; a silent cue to continue.

"They get to float in the sky. No commitment to anything and that's all that's expected of them. I'd like to be a cloud."

Shikamaru smiled softly and looked back up again, "me too." He found a friend in Naruto from that instant. They had a good commonality and besides, it was too bothersome to avoid the blonde.

"We're here!" Kiba cheered. Naruto heard a splash and ran to catch up with the other boy.

It was almost as beautiful as his family's glade. A three layer waterfall cascaded from the river above. The water was so clear that you could see what was on the bottom; some fish were scattered through it. Soft grass carpeted the ground, moist from the pond setting. The canopy of trees stopped to let the beautiful sun and sky be seen.

The dog boy was bobbing in the water waving Naru to join him. "Get in here, Foxy." It earned him a half-hearted glare from him which turned to a smirk.

Naruto took a step back and ran full force toward the water and canon-balled right on Kiba. They both came up for air, laughing like idiots. Noah and Akamaru ran up to the edge and yipped happily.

"At least take your clothes off first. You're going to freeze to death on the way home." Neji shook his head. He was disappointed that Haku couldn't come today.

"Don't be such a party pooper." Kiba splashed him. "Yeah." Naruto jumped out of the water and shook his hair slightly.

The sight made Sasuke gather a lustful look in his eyes. He reprimanded himself for letting the emotions control him.

Limp blonde hair hung around his eyes that creased from the intensity of his smile. His ears twitched slightly and tails wagged happily in anticipation. He peeled his shirt off of himself and dropped the orange cargo's to the earth below. Two watched with fire burning within them, hoping that he might just… But unfortunately, the show ended there.

"Come on guys, the waters GREAT!" Naruto jumped in the water again. Kiba smiled at his new enthusiastic friend. He hurled his clothes up onto the shore and challenged Naru to a swimming contest.

The stoics shrugged and stripped to their skivvies.

They laid out in the sun as warm grass tickled their sides. Shikamaru let his legs dangle in the semi-calm waters and stared at the fluffy clouds. Akamaru and Noah got into a mock fight, rolling and pawing everywhere. Neji rested on his elbows and watched the two crazy boys swim their fifth lap. Gaara and Sasuke each sat beneath a tree and too, watched the two…well, the one, Naruto.

"Ack! What the hell, Kiba?!" The indignant shout caused everyone's attention to reach the speaker.

Naruto was spitting out water as Kiba smirked smugly from the shoreline. "I win."

"You cheated." He was coughing and panting heavily.

"I didn't cheat! I improvised." Naru rolled his eyes at the excuse and swam to the water's edge. He jumped out and rolled onto his back, panting for all he was worth.

Gaara licked his suddenly dry lips. He watched the boy intently; the tan chest heaving, cheeks flushed, pink lips parted, and the wet, hot body resting there so vulnerable… so pliant. Gaara was about to agree with his libido when Sasuke walked right in front of his view. _'What's he planning?'_

He looked down on Naruto, smirking. "Tired already, dobe?"

Naruto glared. "You wish, Sasuke-sama-teme." A hand was thrust in front of his face. He looked at it crossed-eyed.

"Get up, you look stupid down there." Naruto took the hand vengefully and, with his own strength, attempted to pull himself up. Key word, 'attempted'. When he tugged, the muddy grass caused Sasuke to slip and fall right on Naruto. Their bodies weren't the only things that connected. That was the straw that broke the camel's back; both were mortified and the other's…scarred? Maybe. Turned on? Possibly. Surprised? Probably not.

---

Haku was running through the village, Iruka not far behind. He looked frantically, left to right. The bodies would be burned into his mind forever. He was running to the City Hall where Jiraiya should be. _'What happened while we were gone?!' _Haku screamed in his mind.

He burst through the tall white doors of the City Hall and boomed, "Jiraiya! What the HELL did you do?!"

A white haired man popped his head out from a door. "You'd do best not to scream like that, people might get worried."

"Shut up, you old fart. What did you do?"

"I just put up some pictures and made a few laws."

"Some 'Pictures'?! You put porn all over the city!" He cried, being held back by Iruka from castrating the other man.

"It's not porn!" Jiraiya shouted indignantly. "It's art, damnit!"

"Art my ass!"

The old man cowered before Haku. He might not get that opportunity to star in the new Icha Icha movie after all.

_**TBC…**_

Nomi: Who should Kiba end up with? I really want to know. The girls will be showing up soon if any of you are looking forward to that.

Mol: You waited too long again. I'll kill you soon.

Nomi: I'm now waiting for my impending doom. If you see something you don't like in this chapter or you have an idea for a future chapter, review and I'll see what I can do. I'm a fan whore so I'll do anything. I like criticism if you have any so I can write better.

Mol: How about you update sooner, hm?

Nomi: Well, after Tuesday, I'll be on summer break so I'll be able to write much more!

Mol, Sasuke, Naruto, Haku, Itachi: Yay!

Both: Ja! R&R please!

Teah: Peace Ya'll!

Dedicated to PrincessTeah! Thanks for all the suppport! Also for previewing this chapter. I'm starting the oneshot I promised you. I've got the perfect idea.

Thanks to Sarah for previewing as well.

Thanks to EVERYONE who reads this story and reviews too.

Here's what I think Naruto looks like: www.(space)deviantart.(space)com/deviation/57226774/


	7. Let's Find Out!

-Let's Find Out!-

Sasuke starred down at his pinned captive oddly. How'd he get here again? Oh yeah. The dobe pulled him down and that's how they ended up in this compromising position. It didn't help that their lips were locked in what could've have been a 'kiss'. But that would require one of the two to want that to happen and Sasuke was sure that he didn't. Nope, not one bit.

'_Denial.' _Inner Sasuke cooed.

His voices really needed to know when to shut up.

"Well this is awkward." Shikamaru's voice seemed to smack the two to their senses.

Sasuke got off of the blonde with as much dignity as he had left while still being quick about it. He didn't want to be in that position longer than he needed to. Mentally, he slapped a hand over Inner Sasuke's mouth.

"Sorry Sasuke." Naruto said quietly, looking at his feet. He was so embarrassed.

"Yeah, you should be." Sasuke bit out and dived gracefully into the water.

"Teme!" Naruto shouted, jumping in after him, ignoring the tingling sensation on his lips.

Shikamaru shook his head dully. "Troublesome."

---

"We have a lot to talk about, don't we?" Jiraiya asked in a more somber tone.

"We do." Haku answered strongly. He noticed Jiraiya's eyes on Iruka. "Don't worry about him. It's best if he knows too." Jiraiya nodded and lead the other two into a private room.

"Please, have a seat." He gestured toward two seats on one side of a small table. Iruka and Haku sat and watched Jiraiya sit in the seat opposite of them. "Now, tell me what happened."

Iruka looked at Haku worriedly when the other started chewing viciously on his lip. "We were attacked."

Despite Iruka's reaction of being shocked, Jiraiya simply nodded his head. "We gathered that. By who?"

"I don't know. It was sudden. Aunt Kyuubi and Mom sensed them and told Aki to hide us behind the waterfall. They-they ki-killed…They k-k-kill…" Haku shook violently, wishing for all the world that he didn't have to say it. He felt warm arms awkwardly wrap around him from the side. It was Iruka.

"It's okay." He whispered gently.

Haku nodded and wiped his face with his sleeve. "M-mom, then Aunt Kyuubi, Ak-Aki, and then Maki." He breathed deeply. "Naruto got shot through the stomach and I got shot in the leg…Naruto's fine by the way."

Jiraiya nodded, taking in the whole story. "So they had guns?"

"Yes."

"I see," he took some time to think of his next question, "and where have you been living since then?"

"He's been living with my masters, the King and Prince of the western lands. I'm their servant, Iruka. We didn't get to that part." Iruka smiled, trying to be as polite as possible, not knowing the customs of the village.

"How very kind you are. I am Jiraiya, the…well; I guess you could call me a substitute. I was instructed to take the place of Naruto's mother, should anything happen to her, until he takes the thrown."

The servant took the information in surprisingly easily. "If that's the case, can I assume that he either doesn't know, or he hasn't been trained yet?" Silence was his answer. "Does that mean that both?"

"We thought it would be best for him that way. We thought that his mother would teach him when she thought the time was right. She pleaded with the council to let her handle it. The council could not say no to her and she had every reason to want to protect her son. You see, she had lost her husband six months before then in an act of treason. If the council declined, she would never be able to trust them again." Jiraiya spoke with powerful conviction. It was, after all, a remarkable event.

Haku stepped in after that. "A councilmen was jealous of Arashi, the Great leader of the Fox Tribe. He hired many assassins to dispose of him, hundreds of them. The man wanted his power, his money, his position, everything that Arashi had. His men ambushed him. Arashi fought with every ounce of power he had and killed the men but he was drained. All it took after that was single bullet to the chest. That man was my father." Admitting it seemed like it left a bad taste in his mouth. His lips curled into a sneer.

Talking about his father made his retch. That lowly man was not worthy of the air in the lungs of a convicted cereal killer. He despised and loathed the creature.

Hito.

He wasn't always that kind of man. Hito loved Haku's mother so tenderly, graced his children with the same love and admiration as a father who looked at his wife after giving birth. He was as proud of them as they were of him.

But something ugly was born in him the second he met with Arashi. That ugly thing killed Arashi and it killed Ruka and Tara. By this time, Haku was sinking his nails into his forearms just thinking about it.

"I think Naruto's in a good place. This way he can learn without the council breathing down his neck. I can also watch over him. They trusted me to be his advisor after all." Jiraiya nodded wisely.

"I too, think it would be best. You have my permission, but you must report to me his progress every month. No exceptions."

"Yes… Jiraiya?" Haku asked, looking down.

"It was yesterday. I can send someone with you if you'd like."

"No. I'll go with him…If that's alright." Iruka stood up and pushed his chair in. He stood next to Haku as though waiting for him.

"Let's go then." Haku left with Iruka, silently crying into the comforting arm around him.

---

"Ha! I beat you Sasuke-teme!" Naruto cheered while gripping on the edge of the lake.

"I don't know what race you were watching, dobe." Sasuke mocked.

_SPLASH!_

All was quiet.

'_This is going to end well.'_ Neji thought sarcastically.

"Dobe!" A dark aura started radiating from a drenched and pissed off figure that was bobbing in the water. "You did _not_ just _splash_ me, did you?"

"Uh-oh. Ha ha, Sa-Sasuke… You can take a joke can-can't you?" Naru seriously feared for his life.

Sasuke looked at the boy menacingly, a sadistic smirk on his face. He brought his arms behind him and looked directly in the terrified blue orbs. Then he smiled.

"Nope."

With that, he forcefully swung his arms forward again and a tidal wave of water crashed into the blonde's face.

Naruto resurfaced and sputtered the water out of his mouth. He shook free the hair that covered his eyes and clung to his face.

"Teme. That was hardly in the spirit of fun." He did his best impression of glare for good measure.

By then, everyone was in the water, having fun while still avoiding the Swimming Match of Death™. Neji was relaxing on the side in the shallow end and Gaara was on the opposite side doing the same thing. Kiba was trying to get Shikamaru to play Marco Polo with him.

Naruto climbed out and went under a tree for some rest.

Wind whisked about him, caressing the grass that danced around and tickling him now and then. Sun peaked through the gaps the leaves in the trees left and left speckles of light on his skin. The sounds of the wildlife around them sung harmonically and lulled him to sleep. There was nothing he could do about it.

Sasuke looked over at the sleeping fox boy. Inner voice aside, Naru really did look cute. The whole thing took him back to yesterday and the way he looked when he was sleeping. In one word…angelic.

'_Damn.'_ He dunked his head under the water as though erasing the image. _'This isn't good.' _Gaara's eyes were firmly fixated on Naruto and that only worried him more. _'I have to protect him from Gaara.'_ Sasuke nodded discreetly. _'Just to keep him safe, not because I want him or anything.'_

---

The sun was setting peacefully behind the trees lighting the sky ablaze with colors of the softest hues. Children were running home with their giant shadows. Life was boiling down to the silence of night.

"Haku, we should go back now." Iruka said, standing next to the knelt down child.

"Iruka, can I ask you a favor?"

"What is it?"

"I'm going to tell Naruto what happened when we get back and chances are that he won't take it well. He trusted that I'd tell him if anything substantial happened but I avoided it as though it weren't. When he runs, will you comfort him?" He looked up from the grave stones and to the pictures of their smiling faces. _'Mom, Aki Maki, Aunt Kyuubi. Even if he hates me, I'll protect him. No matter what.'_

Iruka knelt down behind him and hugged him. "Of course. This is hard on you too. If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you."

"Thank you, Iruka." Haku released himself from the hug and smiled at his friend. "Let's go."

Iruka smiled back and chased after the running Haku.

'_I'll miss you guys. I love you. Goodbye.' _

---

The group had already dropped off most of their members and Shikamaru just departed to go on his way, leaving just Sasuke and Naruto.

However, the only person walking was Sasuke and he was doing something very peculiar for him. He was carrying Naruto on his back. If anyone had enough gall, they'd probably say how cute it was. Sasuke held Naruto's thighs in an arm lock and had Neji put Naruto's arms around his neck. As they walked Naruto's head lolled light and right in his sleep.

If anyone had said anything; Sasuke would've laughed in their face and then beat them to a bloody pulp. Not because he cared, just because he could.

They were through the gate surrounding the mansion when Naruto started stirring. At first, Sasuke thought he was waking up so he prepared to put him down by crouching lower to the ground. All Naruto did with tighten his hold around Sasuke's neck; not death grip, but still quite tight.

Without thinking much of it, Sasuke resumed his posture and continued walking down the path. No more than a minute later, he started squirming again. This time, the movements were coupled with panting and interesting whining noises.

The whole thing was making Sasuke very uncomfortable so he started doing deliberate jostling motions to wake him up. He kicked gravel, 'tripped' a few times; he even talked to himself, rather loudly. If any of the grounds keepers saw him, they'd think he was insane.

Nothing seemed to wake him and the sounds were getting more and more…was that his name?

"Sa-su-ke," was whispered softly from sweet, parted, pink lips.

"Not helping, dobe!" He groaned.

"What was that, teme?!" Naruto threw himself from Sasuke's back and stood in what someone might call a fighting stance.

'_Loud talking and subtle movements don't do anything, but give him one insult and he's ready to fight.' _Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Nothing, nothing. Let's just go inside." He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the mansion.

"Huh? Wait a bit, how'd we get here…and when did I get dressed?" Naruto danced in a circle like he was trying to look at his backside.

"Well, you were asleep and we were leaving and Neji said we shouldn't wake you. I was gonna kick you awake." Sasuke mumbled the last part to himself. "So, I had him dress you and I carried you here. You're such a loser, you didn't even notice when we moved you around so much."

"Why would Neji care that much? We just meet. He must be a really nice person." Naruto declared.

"Ha, my ass. He was probably trying to score points for your cousin." The raven whispered.

"Huh? You should really speak up; it's unbecoming for a prince to mumble." Naru joked and slapped Sasuke on the back.

"Na-Ru-To!" Sasuke roared and chased the blonde all the way down the path and into the mansion.

---

"It seems you've found someone that you hold dear, Naruto." A sinister voice cackled quietly. Above, on the roof of the building, a shadow leapt away and disappeared from sight.

---

"Are you sure this is okay? It is sort of different than the mansion." Haku asked.

"It's fine. I like listening to the wildlife for a change. It's nice." Iruka replied truthfully from his bed opposite of Haku's.

It was a large room with two queen sized beds and shutter bar windows. Cozy and homey.

"Say Haku?" Iruka started.

"Hm?"

"What do you really think about living with Itachi-sama and Sasuke-sama? I can't help but feel they pushed you into living there… well Itachi-sama did anyway."

There was a pregnant pause as if something very delicate were happening, like an explosive being neutralized.

"I think it's nice. I'm glad that Naruto has gotten out of the village finally since travel is an important aspect of his soon-to-be duty. And everything else that he'll learn."

"So it's about the learning?"

"Well, more than that, I'm glad he has friends now."

"Hm?"

"In the village, everyone loved Naruto, not only because his mother and father ruled them but because he was such a happy and loving person. Whenever he tried to leave and explore, he'd find outsiders. People who didn't understand us, being part fox, thought us to be vicious. So he never had friends out side of his tribe. The same goes for me as well."

"I see. I'm happy for him too." Iruka smiled a thousand watt smile.

"Hey, Kakashi's so lucky to have you, you know?"

Even in the darkness, the deep blush on his face was still visible. Call it some form of payback, but he just had to ask.

"Haku, how do you feel about Itachi?"

"What-what's that supposed to mean?" Red started tinting his cheeks.

"What do you want to mean?"

There was another pause.

"I don't know. I think he's joking with me since we haven't known each other that long. But…I don't know…"

He saw Iruka under the moonlight looking sad for some reason. Haku sighed.

"I really don't know, but," Iruka looked up, "he might be worth looking into. I'll at least give him a chance."

"I'm glad."

"Now let's go to sleep we have a long walk ahead of us," Haku rolled onto his side, "night."

"Good night." Iruka closed his eyes, a feather-light smile in his features.

---

"It's so weird not having Haku here." Naruto moped from his place at the dinner table.

"I know! Isn't it! I shouldn't have told him to take his time. Papa needs him back now." Streams of tears fell down Itachi's face.

'_He's a totally different person when he talks about Haku.' _Naruto grinned.

"You've got it bad, huh?" He wiggled his eyebrows at Itachi. But some spark, Itachi could see, screamed; _'hurt him and die.'_ creepy smile and all.

"Well, you've suddenly become bolder. What's gotten into you?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke, who was sitting quietly, perked up in interest, but you wouldn't tell just by looking at him.

"Oh? Nothing. It was just part of this book I'm reading." Two pairs of eyes landed on him, while another pair of not so innocent eyes looked off into some far distant place.

Sasuke was almost hesitant to ask. "What book?"

"This one." Naru pulled a shockingly familiar orange book, child warning on the back. "Kakashi gave it to me this morning."

'_Breakfast was relevantly quiet. A few protests from Haku when he found a hand where it shouldn't have been. Also an odd happening when Kakashi called Naruto away from the table for a moment. Haku and Iruka were on top guard at that instance. Other than that, it was quite peaceful. __'Must be the calm before the storm.' __Haku thought on edge.'_

If someone could really sweat bullets, the room would look like Swiss cheese. Kakashi was awaiting his imminent doom.

The two sons of Satan reared their dark heads in the silver haired man's direction.

"Ka-ka-shi!" Sasuke ran off to beat the proverbial shit out of him.

Itachi stayed with Naruto to help console his poor scared mind. "Tell me Naruto. How much of that book did you actually read?"

"Oh, I read all of it."

"Haku's going to kill me." Itachi whined.

"I didn't understand all of it, but it was nice."

"Let me see it, okay?" He held his hand out expectantly.

"Sure. You wanna read it too?" Naruto gave him the book.

"Chances are that I already have." He scanned the cover and almost let out a sigh of relief.

"Icha Icha Paradise: Yaoi Addition: A Complex Love. This is kiddy stuff."

"You mean there's more?!" The blonde sounded excited.

"No! No more!"

"Dang. Oh well… Hey, where did Sasuke go?"

-Meanwhile-

"Any last words?" Sasuke smiled menacingly, standing over the huddled body of Kakashi, who was crying a river. He shined a bright light in the others' face and then to a pile of orange not too far away.

"Mmph-mmph-phm!" Kakashi screamed through the bandana tied around his mouth.

"It's hard to hear you? You want it slow and painful, you say?" He laughed.

The other tried to free himself from the ropes that bound him, but it was futile.

"You tried to defile Naruto's innocent mind with these. I'll just have to take them away from you."

Sasuke took the entire pile of books and lit them one fire and watched it fizzle itself out when it was done. The whole time, relishing in Kakashi's screams of pain.

"Now it's your turn."

His eyes widened in panic.

Sasuke stalked in slowly, knife at his side, ready to give the final blow…

"Sasuke-sama! Your foods getting cold." He heard a maid call him from the other side of his torture chamber.

"Hmph, you got lucky this time. Watch your back." Sasuke dropped the knife and walked away coolly.

Kakashi cried tears of joy. Now all he had to do was escape the bindings and find his way upstairs.

---

Dinner was finished without any further interruptions and they all went upstairs for bed.

"Good night Itachi. Don't worry, they'll be back tomorrow." Reassurance was key at this time.

"Thanks. Oh, my dear, Haku! What if you've found someone else back home? I'd be so broken." Naruto sighed at that.

"Well, see ya in the morning then." Naruto and Sasuke walked away to the left while Itachi went right.

"Good night Sasuke and uh," he looked at his feet and Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, "thanks, for today. I had fun."

Without looking Sasuke in the eye, he pecked his cheek and ran into his room.

Sasuke stood there dumbly for a minute and then smiled like a villain. He walked into his room and slept peacefully that night. In fact, everyone slept well that night.

Itachi with the anticipation to see Haku the following day. Sasuke with a moronic grin on his face. Naruto with happiness that he had the courage to do that. Noah, because he could. Haku, because he was going to see Naruto tomorrow. Iruka, for gaining a new friend.

Deep in an underground cellar, Kakashi banged on the locked door for help. Sadly, everyone was asleep and no one heard him.

_**TBC…**_

Nomi: This was super late this time. I'm really sorry but a lot of things happened. My dad got a blood clot and I had to take care of him and then we had to put my brother (A dog), Buster, down. It was just hectic.

Mol: Dang.

Nomi: Yeah. I know. So I hope you all like this chapter and keep reviewing so I can get inspired. If you don't like something in it, let me know and I'll try to change it. If there's something that you want to see happen in a future chapter, tell me that too.

Mol: Fan whore.

SOL: Yes! Haku will be mine soon!

SG: Yes! Naru kissed me!

Naru: -blushes-

Haku: -rages-

Nomi: Well, Haku's about to go kill Sasuke and Itachi, so I'll have to leave it off here.

All: Ja! R&R please!

Nomi's quote of the day: Most people look at lemon and ask, 'why?' I look at lemon and ask, 'why not?'


	8. A Little Game of Touch and Go

--A Little Game of Touch and Go—

Note: I changed Kyuubi's name back to Noah because it conflicted with Naruto's mom's name. Sorry for the confusion.

The morning came with many hopes toward the new day. Some to be fulfilled, others to be completely turned around.

Haku and Iruka left the village in the early morning hoping to get back the mansion before noon. Elsewhere, a certain sleepy fox was awakening to a bright new day.

---

"Noah, no. Just five more minutes." Naruto slurred lazily. His face was currently being squished under the force the kit's moving paws. It keened lowly as if to say, _'No way!' _

"No fair." The blonde propped up onto his elbow and stroked the foxes' back with his free hand. He gazed at the opposite side of the room where, through the window, he could see the sun rising over the mountains in the distance. A sigh escaped him as he watched.

"Pretty, ne?" He asked Noah, moving his attention to the back of his ear. "I wish everyone else could see this." His head fell down and he drew his knees to his chest. Noah jumped off after being forced out of his position.

"Mom…I'm scared. This is the fourth night that I've had that dream and I…I'm not sure that it's a dream anymore. Haku, please come here soon. Come _home_ soon." Noah returned to the bed, laying down at Naruto's feet, silent whimpers slipping out.

While the two weren't paying attention, a figure snuck into the room and approached the blonde.

---

"You seem to be in a good mood today, Sasuke." Itachi pointed out as he walked into the Dining Hall to see his brother almost literally dancing on air.

Sasuke stopped all movement and glared at his brother. "I'm not any different than usual." He claimed.

"So Naru didn't kiss you last night?" The young Uchiha's back went as straight as a board. _'Damn that all-knowing bastard.'_

"Friggin' stalker." Sasuke muttered.

"Ah, so I was right!" _'He was guessing?!'_

"I hate you. You know that?"

"Aw, Suke-chan is so mean!"

"Haku's not here, you know. You don't have to act like that."

"But I really miss him and he's coming home today. I'm just really excited."

"Honestly, what kind of king are you? Getting all love sick when he's only been gone for a day." The prince let out a breath of exhaustion and annoyance.

"Oh please, like if Naruto left for an hour, you wouldn't be all Hell, fire and brimstone with the servants."

"Like hell I would. Just because he kissed me last night doesn't mean I care at all for that dobe."

"AHHH!!" A scream echoed through the mansion, catching the attention of the quarreling brothers.

"That was Naruto!" Itachi confirmed. They both ran upstairs to their guest's bedroom and kicked open the door.

---

"I wonder how everyone's doing." Iruka mumbled as they walked along the path.

"I don't know. I hope Naru's okay though. I can't explain it, but I have this strange urge to punch Sasuke into tomorrow." Iruka laughed nervously at the comment.

"I could bet safe money that Itachi is worried about you." The tanned man pointed out.

"Great." He rolled his eyes.

"To be honest, I've never seen him act like this. It's really funny when you compare him to the way he was before you got here."

"Hm?"

"Well, before he never talked to anyone. The only response you'd get would be a 'hn' or a deadly glare. He seems genuinely happy. I hope you can continue to keep him happy in the future." Iruka chuckled lightly at the blank expression on Haku's face.

Haku turned red and faced another direction. "It's not my fault he's a weirdo."

---

"Gaara?! What the hell are you doing to Naru?!" Sasuke started to fume as soon as he saw the compromising position that Gaara and Naruto were in.

Gaara was sitting on Naruto's hips and pinning the blonde's hands above his head. His face was mere inches away from Naruto's. Naru had a deer-caught-in-headlights look and a frightened quiver in his lip. He starred at Sasuke almost gratefully.

Sasuke saw Noah attacking Gaara's ankle out of his peripheral vision. _'Help.' _Naruto mouthed.

"I'll give you five seconds to get off of him and leave." The younger son of Satan stalked forward to the bed.

"What if I don't want to?" Gaara asked coyly, lowering his head further. Naruto squirmed and kicked. He bucked Gaara up and kicked him in the stomach, knocking the red head off of the bed.

"Little tease. Don't think you're getting away this time." Gaara went back for the bed as Naruto rolled off of it and onto the ground.

"FIVE!" Sasuke let loose his powers and his eyes burned red. Before they started fighting, Itachi took Naruto out of the room so he didn't see anything _too _violent.

No more than a few moments later, Sasuke swung the doors open with a semi-satisfied look on his face. Behind him, Gaara laid in a crumpled heap on the ground.

Three people went into the room, gathered the body, and took it downstairs.

"I called them to take him to the dungeon. I'll let Haku take over when he gets here." Naruto suddenly felt sorry for Gaara. _'Serves him right though.' _

"Are you okay Naruto?" Itachi asked. He could feel Naruto's body shaking.

"Y-yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry I caused problems for you." He looked down out of shame.

"It was no problem. I'm sorry we didn't tell you what kind of person Gaara could be."

"Don't worry about that. I know now. I-If you guys don't mind, I'm going to just hang out in my room for a bit." Naruto was let out of Itachi's hold and he walked into his room, closing the doors lightly behind him.

"I'm going to go check on the detainment." Itachi waved shortly as he walked down the stairs. "Don't do anything I wouldn't."

Sasuke chose to ignore the last comment and knocked on Naruto's door.

"Ye- hic. Yes?"

Without asking permission, Sasuke let himself into the room. Naruto was sitting on the floor, not far from the bed, and his hands wiping furiously at his face. Sasuke swept over to him with his arm around his shoulder and down on one knee. He hardly noticed Naru flinch when he placed his arm around him.

"Are you okay?" The older one in the room asked, very concerned.

Naruto didn't say anything; he just looked at Sasuke and started bawling into his shoulder. This is where Sasuke started to feel awkward since he wasn't much of the _comforting_ type. He simply held onto the other until he could feel the shaking subside slightly.

"I'm really sorry. I don't know why I…" His hand subconsciously went to his right shoulder.

Sasuke moved the hand out of the way and saw a dark bruise glaring up at him from the tanned skin. He stood up and towered darkly over Naruto.

"He did this?" It was spoken menacingly and it frightened Naru.

"It-it's okay. It'll heal within the day. So don't worry." Naruto tried to calm the other man down.

"So he did?" Pale hands clenched until nails breached skin. "If Haku doesn't kill him…"

Naruto again felt something akin to pity for the soon-to-be-female Gaara. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked down at the blonde on the floor, "hmm?"

"We're friends, right?" Naruto asked as he got up and sat down on the bed. He patted the spot next to him, indicating that he wanted Sasuke to sit down.

Sasuke plopped down, and let out a jaw popping yawn. The adrenaline from earlier leaving him drained. "Yeah, you can call it that," he agreed, slipping his eyes closed.

"Good."

The raven opened his eyes when he felt a weight on his shoulder and immediately his vision was clouded by gold. He lifted the body slightly to look at his eyes which were shut lightly, a slight purring, rather than a snore, emitting from him.

Sasuke laid back with Naruto's head on his chest and slipped into sleep as well. With his last few lingering moments of consciousness, he tenderly stroked Naru's golden hair.

"_Something like that," _he whispered with a smile on his face.

"SASUKE!!" The door to the room was slammed open.

"What the hell?!" Sasuke jolted up along with Naruto. He noticed a very angry Iruka with a mass of blubbering flesh attached to his leg.

"Welcome back?" Sasuke said, unsure as to why his servant was so angry.

"Fix. It. Now." Iruka lifted his leg forward to show that the bawling form was actually Kakashi.

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly. He didn't want to give those accursed books back to the pervert in fear that he might try to corrupt Naruto again but he couldn't take it out on Iruka too. _'Got it.'_

"Kakashi…" He snapped his fingers a few times to get his attention. Rising from the bed, he stood before Kakashi.

"Why don't I give you the day off to go do whatever you want with Iruka?" _'That way _he_ can take it out on Iruka, but in a better and, dare I say, more productive way.' _

"Now I remember why I love this job!" And faster than you could say 'sex', the two were gone leaving nothing but a cloud of dust in their wake.

"Well he got over that fast." Naruto shook his head sadly. "Wait a minute. If Iruka's here then that means… Haku's back!" He scrambled off the bed as fast as he could but in his haste his foot got wrapped up in the blanket and tripped.

"Be careful!" Sasuke yelled and caught him but his foot stopped short and caused him to fall forward, pressing Naruto down onto the bed.

"Ahn!" Naruto cried out in surprise.

And that's what Haku walked in to see. Naruto pinned down onto a bed, clearly not of his freewill. Sasuke hovering above, hands on either side of Naruto's head and his expression as guilty as Haku thought he was.

"Wait a minute Haku! I can explain, I was just-"

_**WHAM!**_

Haku flung Sasuke into the wall and off of Naruto. He hugged Naruto tightly.

"Ah, Naru! It's been so long. Have you been okay? Did you have fun on your little trip? Did you miss me? I missed you so much! And – Ugh! What is that hideous, bleeding, thing on the wall over there?!" Haku pointed shakily at the wall on the opposite side of the room. A gross mess of flesh, blood, and dignity was oozing down the surface.

"That's um, Sasuke…Haku, why did you throw Sasuke into a wall?" Naruto looked at his cousin worriedly.

"_I _did that?! Well, he must've deserved it for _some _reason." Haku glared as Sasuke staggered to his feet.

"Are you okay, Sasuke?" The blonde asked, concerned. He walked over and helped the prince up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." Naruto assisted Sasuke to the bed. While Haku's back was turned for a brief moment Naruto whispered quietly to Sasuke, "let's wait a while before we tell Haku about Gaara, okay?"

Sasuke would've disregarded Naruto's plea if it weren't for the baby blue eyes imploring him to be silent. He shook his head and sighed in silent submission.

Naruto rushed up to Haku and hugged him tightly, "I missed you so much. You're not allowed to go on a vacation that long without me again." He smiled up at his cousin.

"Yea, yea, I wouldn't dream of it. Now, that walk made me really hungry and while judging from how fast Kakashi ran out of here with Iruka, I can probably guess they won't come, but I think we should have breakfast." Haku nodded as though agreeing with himself.

"That sounds good; I'll go downstairs and see how it's coming along." Sasuke made his way out of the room quickly.

Just as Haku was about to leave the room as well, Naruto grabbed his shirt, effectively stopping him. "Hm?"

"Haku…I… There's something that we _need_ to talk about. I have a feeling you know what I'm about to say." Haku turned to face his cousin, a sad but knowing look upon his face. He nodded, confirming Naruto's fears.

"I want…no I _need_ to know what happened exactly." Haku saw, in Naruto's eyes, more seriousness than he ever thought the boy possessed.

With a heavy sigh, Haku relented and sat on the bed, signaling Naruto to join him in sitting. Letting another large breath out, he began. He told Naruto everything, from the game of tag at the waterfall to Iruka finding them in the forest.

"They fought with all they had… to protect us." Haku spoke softly, caressing the other's hair. One of Naruto's hands was fisted in the sheets and the other was wiping furiously at his eyes.

"Haku I… I love you Haku, even though you lied. I know that you were just trying to protect me, but right now I…" He didn't finish, he just ran out of the room with the rest of the power that he had left in his drained body.

"Naru-!... I'm so sorry…Naruto." Haku could no longer hold back the tears. The tears he had been holding since seeing his family die right in front of his eyes. The tears he held back when he had learned that his brother's wife and his niece had been killed. The tears he held back when he should have let them go.

He was startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. It was Itachi. He didn't know what came over him, but he wanted nothing more than to bury his face in the older man's chest and bawl his eyes out, and so he did just that. Itachi just sat there, rubbing soothing circles on Haku's back and cooing sweet, nonsensical sounds.

-------

Naruto ran blindly through the castle, tears streaming down his face. He was fully content with just running until he couldn't run anymore until he ran into a small but firm chest. Knocked off balance, he was ready to fall but a large hand clasped around his wrist to prevent him from hitting the ground.

"Naru, are you okay?" Iruka's soft voice asked, very concerned. That was when Iruka saw the tears. "Oh dear, Naruto." The older man wrapped his arms tightly around the blonde.

Out in the hallway, where all the servants and maids could see, Naruto cried like a child, sobbing as though in mortal pain and in all actuality, he was, mentally.

"I-I-Iruk-k-ka, I…I just…Mooooom!" Naruto choked out. Iruka nodded and hummed softly as though trying to calm the boy. Noah keened lowly behind him, worriedly.

Kakashi stood from the door way with a serious and solemn look on his face. He turned his head down as though watching Naruto cry was a sin in the act alone.

'_Poor child.'_

An hour later found Naruto curled up in a tight ball on Iruka and Kakashi's bed. His eyes red and puffy and tear marks stained on his cheeks. Iruka sat on the bed with him, stroking his hair and listening to the quiet purr Naruto let out once in a while.

"Do you really think that he'll be okay?" Kakashi asked, looking up from the book he was reading in the chair across the room.

"Naruto is very strong, but even this will shake him for a while. That's as to be expected, even so, I believe he will be okay. I mean, he has us doesn't he?" Iruka smiled down at the boy and kissed his forehead affectionately.

"Yes, that boy certainly has a way of getting under your skin," Kakashi smirked and stood, approaching the man on the bed. He swiftly bent down and stole a sweet kiss from him.

The tanned man smiled as his counterpart made to leave the room when something struck him.

"Kakashi? Where exactly did you get that Icha Icha book?" Iruka quirked a brow and snickered as Kakashi quickened his pace to leave.

---------

During the same time lapse, we find two people lying comfortably on a bed; one spooned tightly into the other.

Itachi was rubbing up and down Haku's arm in a calming gesture. Nearly silent sounds of breathing were coming from Itachi as the older man had his nose pressed against Haku's hair, getting lost in the scent.

"Itachi…" Haku mumbled, he was so close to drifting to sleep and Itachi's ministrations weren't helping him in the slightest in the means of staying awake.

"Hm?"

"I don't know why you stayed, but I just want to…thank you." Haku turned his head and kissed Itachi's forearm that was wrapped around him.

"Haku I-" but the change in Haku's breathing pattern changed, interrupting him. _'-and you're asleep. Great.'_

"When will I ever get the opportunity to tell you seriously that I…" Itachi silenced himself and settled for simply enjoying the time that he would have with Haku. Within a matter of moments, Itachi slipped into the welcoming gift of sleep.

----------

It was when lunch rolled around that Sasuke began to get worried about the others. He wandered around the mansion looking for everyone. He started in Naruto's room only to find his brother and Haku asleep on the bed and snuggled together. Apparently, he made some noise as he closed the door because as soon as he stepped one foot away he heard a loud crash followed by a 'Pervert!' After that, he checked Haku's room, the garden, the kitchen, under the couch, everywhere. Somewhere along the way he picked up Noah and was cradling him in his arms.

It wasn't until he ran into Kakashi that he was told Naruto was sleeping in his and Iruka's room.

"You should just let him sleep for now, he'll be down within the hour, so don't worry." Kakashi smiled evilly.

"I'm not worried; I just don't want the food to go to waste is all." Sasuke shouted defensively and left the other man in favor of going downstairs to eat.

He found Itachi and Haku already eating so he joined in. There was a different kind of tension between the two that Sasuke couldn't quite name.

After lunch, Sasuke sat down on the couch in the living room with a good book and a comfy looking Noah on his lap. And that's exactly how Naruto found him a half hour later.

"Hey, sorry for disappearing like that earlier." Naruto mumbled apologetically. Sasuke could see some sadness in his eyes like he just wanted to give up but the look also told him not to ask about it.

"Hn. S'okay. We already had lunch but we saved some for you in case you were still hungry." It was then that Naruto's stomach decided to make itself heard.

The two sat down at the kitchen table, Naruto, with a bowl of beef ramen and Sasuke sitting across from him. The blonde ate slowly, which startled Sasuke a little. His eyes held a gazed look down at his bowl like it held all the secrets of life in its murky waters. A few times that he wasn't paying attention he missed his mouth and got it on his face. He placed the wooden chopsticks down and sighed, lightly closing his eyes to the world around him. When he opened his eyes he noticed Sasuke looking at him with a strange glint in his black orbs.

Before he could ask Sasuke what was wrong the other was out of his chair and licking up a stray noodle from the side of Naruto's face.

The tan face went bright red and he let out a very girly squeal. "Wh-what the-, Sasuke?! What are you mmmph!"

Naruto's eyes widened considerably when he realized just whose lips were on his. _'What? What's this…feeling?'_

_**TBC…**_

Nomi: So just how long _has_ it been? God, I'm sooooooooo sorry and I hope that you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. I'm kind of going through a mid-yaoi crisis…um…you see…it's like…I don't love SasuNaru as much as I used to (I still like it though). But, I'm trying really hard to work on my stories without half-assing them.

Mol: I guess its okay. I'm just glad you're still trying.

Nomi: Thanks. So I'll just write the usual stuff now. If there's something you don't understand, tell me and I'll clarify it in the story. If there's something you don't like about this update, tell me and I'll try to fix it. If there's something you want to see in a future chapter, let me know and I might add it.

Mol: By the way, she re-changed Kyuubi to Noah. Sorry, for the confusion but she promises not to change it again.

Nomi: Anything else?

SOL: Yes! I want smut!

SG: Porn!

Naru: Oh noes!

Haku: Touch him and die! –glarethreaten-

Everyone: Ja! R&R please!

SOL: Vote porn for president!

Quote of the day: Nobody ever really dies a virgin because life screws you every chance it gets.


End file.
